Hello everyone,
Maker Faire Wayne County 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.
Signup deadline for Maker Faire Wayne County is April 2nd! Fill-out an online application here or call 330-684-8722 to signup over-the-phone. Participation is free and the experience is unforgettable!
The Daily Record said it best: “Dubbed the ‘Greatest Show and Tell on Earth’; over 1,200 people flocked to the third annual faire at the University of Akron Wayne College the summer before last. It was a fresh experience with favorite makers from previous years along with new makers and new things to see and do.
Maker Faire is Everywhere. Events are happening all over the country (and all over the world), over 220 of them each year! Need inspired? Check out these photos from Denver’s Mini Maker Faire. You’ll see battle bots, toys that play with people, and an augmented reality sandbox that uses a projector and an Xbox Kinect that transforms 200 pounds of white sand into a shape-shifting, topographical map where mountains, valleys, lakes, and rivers blink in and out of existence.
For those wondering, what, exactly, is a maker faire, it is ‘a gathering of fascinating, curious people who enjoy learning and who love sharing what they can do. From engineers to artists to scientists to crafters, Maker Faire is a venue for these ‘makers’ to show hobbies, experiments, projects,’ according to its website.”
We are proud to showcase Ohio makers who participated in Maker Faire Wayne County. Some of these are students from Lincoln Elementary School. Their 4th graders created a showcase of design challenges that they shared with the Maker Faire community. The students’ goal is to inspire families and schools to provide design challenge opportunities to even more children.
The project is a collection of over 20 design challenges that their fourth graders have engaged in throughout the school year. Almost every Friday, science teacher Joe Shalala gives his students a design challenge and then lets their incredible creativity loose! Their project is a showcase of the engineering that student have engaged in that will hopefully inspire other families and teachers to provide similar opportunities for their children.
Lincoln students (and a teacher) were at the table to answer questions and describe their thinking as they worked using the design process during construction. They included a hands-on activity (drinking straw rockets) at the booth that participants at the Maker Faire made and took home!
Another person who participated in Maker Faire Wayne County is Aaron Holmes from Wayne County. With a passion for cycling and woodworking, he designed and built a wooden frame bicycle. The bike is handmade from black walnut and is fully functional. The bike is custom designed and fully rideable; he’s ridden about 350 miles on it last Fall. There are many interesting features and customizations throughout the bike. The design and build process were exciting and the first ride was purely satisfying!
While the main purpose of the project was the experience of designing and building his own bike, it has also become an excellent platform to encourage others to be creative, design, and make something. Aaron grew-up in his father’s woodworking shop. From a young age, he has always enjoyed designing and making things. He is an electrical engineer by profession and works with a group designing and building custom machines for automotive manufacturing. Aaron enjoys sharing his passions for woodworking, cycling, and engineering.
Rounding out our makers who participated is RAMTEC of the Wayne County Schools Career Center. Focusing on the needs of local industry, they offer both High School and Adult Education classes in Robotics, Automation and CNC Machining.
RAMTEC’S focus is on Advanced Manufacturing, Robotics, Automation, and CNC machining. They brought a small robot demo, a small Automation demo and a small CNC demo unit. RAMTEC is a program designed to fill the skills gap in Ohio for Advanced Manufacturing employment.