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. For a complete list of awesome makers who attended Maker Faire Wayne County click here!
Introducing Maker Camp!
Maker Camp is a free, 6-week online program providing resources (project ideas & step-by-step instructions, inspiration, materials, and community) to summer camps and young Makers interested in DIY, making, creating, crafting, hacking, tinkering, and learning. Maker Camp connects Camp leaders from across the globe as they create, invent and build projects like stop-motion animation, junk automata, and rainbow spectroscopes.
Maker Faire Tulsa – Tulsa, OK (8/27)
Des Moines Mini Maker Faire – Des Moines, IA (9/5)
Maker Faire Orange County – Costa Mesa, CA (9/10)
Maker Faire Louisville – Louisville, KY (9/10)
Maker Faire Miami – Miami, FL (9/10)
Local Makers
We are proud to showcase Ohio makers who participated in Maker Faire Wayne County 2022 this past May! One of these is Merlin Erb. He brought hydroponics to the faire using an ingenious system of vinyl gutter pieces connected together to grow plants in water. Static hydroponics enables a household to raise their daily greens simply, efficiently, with minimal inputs. This concept could prove as effective for many households as the Victory Gardens were for WW II families, when leaders and officials encouraged backyard gardens and small livestock for eggs and meat.
Merlin and his wife Loretta have lived north of Dalton for 40 years. Loretta researches food preparation YouTube and taught a class on Basic Sourdough at the Kidron Small Farm Solutions conference in February. Merlin is also an avid reader and writer (see his weekly posts at merlinsmustache.com). He promotes continual lifelong learning with a quote from Oscar Wilde: “It is what you read when you don’t have to, that determines what you will be (or do) when you can’t help it.”
Another person who participated in Maker Faire Wayne County is Benjamin Engle. He bought a number of items milled with a CNC routers and milling machines that he builds in his home garage. These include a guitar, wallets, and knives. Ben also brought a small desktop laser engraver for demonstration. At home, Ben has made all sorts of things like sunglasses, custom signs, and even a wooden watch.
Ben enjoys making all sorts of things, especially woodworking. He designed and built multiple CNC machines to build more precise guitar parts. Ben is always up for a challenge; his latest CNC machine is able to mill metal!
Rounding out our makers who participate in Maker Faire Wayne County is Danielle Sobczwk and teammates from Camp Invention, a STEM Summer Camp Program for grades K-6 that turns curious kids Into innovative thinkers. Camp Invention is part of the National Inventors Hall of Fame. They work with the National Hall of Fame Museum, now in Akron Public Schools and 3,000 school districts all over the country by providing STEM projects and working with teachers.
At Maker Faire last May, Danielle and her team demonstrated different kinds of volcano activity (ice) and other Camp Invention related activities (little mini volcanos). All safe for kids K-6.
If you would like to know more about Merlin’s downspout gardens, Ben’s CNC machines and products, or Camp Invention, please reply to this email.
Until next week,
Tom