Hello everyone,
Want to bring your hobby, invention, school project, or product to the Wayne County Mini Maker faire? We’d love to have you! Act fast; the application deadline is April 1st! You can signup here.
The Wayne County Mini Maker Faire is a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity and resourcefulness and a celebration of the Maker Movement. It’s a place where people show what they are making, and share what they are learning. Makers range from tech enthusiasts to crafters to homesteaders to scientists to garage tinkerers. They are of all ages and backgrounds. The aim of Maker Faire is to entertain, inform, connect and grow this community.
The Daily Record said it best: “Dubbed the ‘Greatest Show and Tell on Earth’; over 1,300 people flocked to the second annual faire at the University of Akron Wayne College last May. It was a fresh experience with favorite makers from last year coming back along with new makers and new things to see and do.
Maker Faires are incredible at any size. In its simplest form, Maker Faire creates opportunities for conversations with Makers. Tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists, students, and entrepreneurs all come together to show their projects and to talk about what they have learned. It is a community based learning event that inspires everyone to become a maker, and connect with people and projects in their local community. Yet, Maker Faire is a “fair” — fun, engaging, and exciting.
Maker Faires are a celebration of the Maker Movement. It is a cultural trend that places value on an individual’s ability to be a creator of things as well as a consumer of things. Individuals who create things are called “makers.” Makers come from all walks of life, with diverse skill sets and interests. The thing they have in common is creativity, an interest in design and access to tools and raw materials that make production possible.
The growth of the maker movement is often attributed to the rise of makerspaces — community centers where makers can go to access tools that would otherwise be inaccessible or unaffordable. The Wayne College 3D Lab and the Schantz Makerspace are examples of local makerspaces. Peer education and opportunities for collaboration are important maker tools, as are access to digital fabrication tools such as 3D printers, laser cutters, CAD software and computer numerical control (CNC) milling machines.
There are plenty of other makerspaces in our area, too. Check-out this interactive map. There are almost 600 community makerspaces in the U.S. alone!
We are proud to showcase Ohio makers who participated in the Wayne County Mini Maker Faire this year. One of these groups is the Canton Hacker and Maker Place. They provide a community-operated work-space where people with common interests (often in computers, machining, technology, science, digital art or electronic art) can meet, socialize, build, and collaborate.
At last year’s faire, CHAMP brought egg coloring robots controlled by an Arduino microcontroller. Attendees picked out designs and assisted the robot in drawing the design. And of course they took their eggs home where they (hopefully) did not spoil, being too pretty to eat!
Another group that participated in the Wayne County Mini Maker Faire is Warm Up America! Orrville. It was founded circa 2005 by an Orrville Public Library employee and is made up of volunteers from the Wayne County area.
At their booth, attendees were shown how to knit and crochet with member of the group. They had yarn and tools available for those who want to sit down with the group and learn basic knitting or crocheting. Their volunteers were ready and able to demonstrate and teach basic techniques to get everyone started with this enjoyable craft. Attendees got to keep any knit/crochet samples they made while at Warm Up Amerca! Orrville’s booth.
Rounding out our makers who participated is Chris Ryan. He has been flying remote controlled (RC) aircraft for almost three years now. Chris has a passion for teaching others how to fly. He is past Vice President of the Wayne County RC Club and the founder of the Ohio Fixed Wing Racing group.
Remotely piloted aircraft are aircraft that do not have a pilot on board. There are many types, several of which Chris exhibited at the Maker Faire. There were demonstrations of his various aircraft as well!
If you would like to know more about Canton Hack and Maker Place, Warm Up America! Orrville, or Chris Ryan’s R/C aircraft, please reply to this email.
The Call For Makers is now open for the 3rd annual Wayne County Mini Maker Faire! Participation is free; You can apply with our online application here. You can also apply via postal mail and telephone. Number 3 is going to be bigger than ever for us as makers return to the Wayne College to fill the Student Life Building and landscape with incredible innovation and creativity. Remember, space is limited so you have to apply as soon as possible to ensure that you get your spot at the greatest show (& tell) on earth! The deadline is April 1st!
Until next week,
Tom