Maker Faire

Crafty Chica   Kathy Cano-Murillo
Kathy Cano-Murillo, The Crafty Chica, talks about what inspires her new work.

Dare to Dream Different with Donuts   Jim Mateer
What can you make with 30 mini-donuts in 5 minutes? Come and impress the crowd with your fun creations and win cool prizes. Meet Microsoft Team Zero to hear the story behind the donuts and what they are planning to do next. This fun donut contest introduces Microsoft’s “Dare to Dream Different” challenge through which almost any developer can create their dream embedded device using the power of .NET Micro Framework – and win over $96,000 in prizes!

Bending Circuits, Bikes, and Musical Traditions in India   Benderella
Benderella, veteran circuit-bender and Maker, reports on discovering circuit-benders, bike modifiers, and electric analog musical instruments on the crowded streets of India. Stop by to see incredible photographs and a stage demonstration of modern trends in the evolution of Indian electronic musical instruments.

Hungry Scientist Cryogenic Ice Cream   The Hungry Scientist
We, the authors of The Hungry Scientist Handbook, believe that LN2 ice cream approaches the theoretical supremum of tastiness, and we like to share this wealth far and wide with our cryogenic ice cream truck, offering fans 100 flavors to choose from as they create their own micro-batches; then posting real-time photos and documentation of regional flavor trends to our website, creating the ultimate global ice cream.

Kluge: The Haphazard Evolution of the Human Mind   Gary Marcus
Are human beings “noble in reason” and “infinite in faculty” as William Shakespeare famously wrote? Perfect, “in God’s image,” as some biblical scholars have asserted? Hardly. If mankind were the product of some intelligent, compassionate designer, our thoughts would be rational, our logic impeccable. Our memories would be robust, our recollections reliable. Our sentences would be crisp, our words precise, our languages systematic and regular; in reality, or our minds besodden with irregular verbs (sing-sang, ring-rang, yet bring-brought, and we humans are the only species smart enough to systematically plan for the future —yet dumb enough to ditch even our most carefully made plans in favor of short-term gratification. (“Did I say I was on a diet? Mmm, but three-layer chocolate mousse is my favorite…Maybe I’ll start my diet tomorrow.”). I don’t mean to suggest that the “design” of the human mind is a total train wreck, but if I were a politician, I’m pretty sure the way I’d put it is: “mistakes were made.” The goal of this lecture is to explain what mistakes were made—and why.

Authentic Innovation   Mister Jalopy
As consumers, we are armed with cash -- the most powerful and efficient mechanism to separate good design from bad. As innovators, we need to respect the cash and we can not begrudge people their inherent awesomeness. Authentic innovators design products that people will not only want to buy, but will want to protect these inspired objects from harm.

Eco-modding with Illuminati Motor Works   Illuminati Motor Works
The Illuminati Motor Works Team is an official Automotive X-Prize Contender. They are competing for the “1 Gallon of Gas, 100 Miles — $10 Million: The Race to Build the Supergreen Car.” At Maker Faire, they will be conducting daily eco-modding workshops as they focus on how to get better mileage and improve performance on the Hyundai Genesis.

Make: television   Twin Cities Public Television
Stop by our booth and learn more about Make: television, coming January 2009. This will be a great opportunity for folks to learn more about the series, check out the projects we'll be highlighting and audition for a chance to be on Make: television. We'll be joined by members of the Geek Squad, the major funder of our series.

DIY laser cutter   Bilal Ghalib
A laser cutter made from two scanners and a DVD-R diode. Computer automation made simple.

Fashioning Technology   Syuzi Pakhchyan
The author of Fashioning Technology: A DIY Intro to Smart Crafting, will talk about incorporating a tech flair to your crafty projects and style. She'll be armed with LEDs, phosphorescent ink, and polymorph plastic, among other "smart materials."

Refashioned Fashion Show   iLoveMikeLitt
Come see creations made on site at Swap-O-Rama-Rama and more, modeled for your enjoyment!

Furby Youth Choir   Thomas Fang
Furby Youth Choir is a small army of modified Furbys which together produce a surreal and stochastic cacophony of tones, buzzes, squeals, and glitched-out demented laughter. Newly installed switches and potentiometers offer some degree of control, but the aleatoric sounds emerging from the bent circuits frequently surprise even the conductor of this robotic choir.

The Painful Leg Injuries   Bill Byrne
The Painful Leg Injuries are multimedia digital artist Bill Byrne, and his wife, Suzanne. They combine Bill’s Nintendo Wii-mote controlled instruments, homemade electronics, gameboy, circuit bent toys, software based instruments, warped old instruments and audio data gathered from file conversions of his visual art with Suzanne’s lovely cello drones. Bill Byrne wrote the article "Wii Will Rock You" for Make Issue #14.

Operation Playmate   Operation Playmate
A musical act performing live improvised electro/techno using original-design handmade electronic instruments and vintage synths. Danceable, and not-too-noisy. Featuring synchronized video art with circuitbent sources.

Art In A Nutshell   ismael cavazos
In the heart of every peanut is the germ, which, with a little imagination and some carving, becomes the head and beard of the Old Man in the Peanut. Learn how I carve peanuts and other creative ideas I explore.

36 Years in the Craft Business   Doug Kreinik
The Kreinik Mfg Co is a family-owned thread company. Doug Kreinik takes you through the family business history, discussing the unique niche that Kreinik has filled over the years. He peeks at what lies ahead for a pastime that only grandmas used to do.

Rejuvenation Couture: Emerge From The Boring   Candace Marquette
Get cool and savy inspirations from the Rejuvenation Couture demo hosted by Candace Marquette, sponsored by Tulip Fashion Art & Aleene's Crafting Adhesives. Candace will show you how use an old leather jacket and make one-of-a-kind accessories. You will also learn how to use simple painting techniques to maximize your unique ubeat style.These days we are all on limited budget, this workshop will give you that creative push to use whatcha got and make it fresh. Emerge From the Boring!

Digitally Fabricated Housing: Build a house with a computer, a ShopBot, and a rubber mallet   Dennis Michaud
Dennis will discuss the ShopBot house he helped build at MOMA out of 600+ sheets of plywood. The project was called, "yourHouse: Digitally Fabricated Housing for New Orleans." It was the effort of Larry Sass and two principal associates, Dan Smithwick and Dennis Michaud (as well as a dozen of Larry’s other students). The house is an extension of Larry’s work on digital fabrication. The team is attempting to harness the speed and precision of digital cutters to fabricate simple shelters quickly and inexpensively. With Larry's building technique, joinery takes the form of precise, interlocking, notches and grooves rather than traditional screws or nails. The idea is that the parts can be cut at or near the building site using locally available sheet material. Then a crew without construction expertise can fit the parts together in just a few days, doing it as they would with a picture puzzle or Lego model, locking pieces into place with nothing more than a rubber mallet, yet creating a sturdy, permanent structure.

The Hair and Balanced TV Filter   AS220 Labs
The Hair and Balanced TV Filter taps into the composite video input to your TV, detects whether you are watching talking head pundits or newscasters, then draws moustaches on the faces on the screen. The TV filter is a new kind of hardware shield that helps users take control of their screen. I use mine on Fox News, to remind myself that Fox isn't real journalism.

Dare to Dream Different with Donuts   Jim Mateer
What can you make with 30 mini-donuts in 5 minutes? Come and impress the crowd with your fun creations and win cool prizes. Meet Microsoft Team Zero to hear the story behind the donuts and what they are planning to do next. This fun donut contest introduces Microsoft’s “Dare to Dream Different” challenge through which almost any developer can create their dream embedded device using the power of .NET Micro Framework – and win over $96,000 in prizes!

UT's Robotics Research Group   Mitch Pryor
A review of the Robotics Research Group's technical goals and videos demonstrating results from some of our recent projects. The group has ongoing projects in mobile manipulation, reconfigurable glovebox robotics, and automated battlefield surgery.

Eco-modding with Illuminati Motor Works   Illuminati Motor Works
The Illuminati Motor Works Team is an official Automotive X-Prize Contender. They are competing for the “1 Gallon of Gas, 100 Miles — $10 Million: The Race to Build the Supergreen Car.” At Maker Faire, they will be conducting daily eco-modding workshops as they focus on how to get better mileage and improve performance on the Hyundai Genesis.

The Man Who Fell To Earth   Joe Kittinger
On August 16, 1960, Colonel Joe Kittinger jumped from a hot air balloon at the edge of space and fell for 20 miles, along the way becoming the first man to break the sound barrier, without an airplane. Freefalling for four and a half minutes, Kittinger dropped at speeds up to 714 miles per hour before opening his parachute at 18,000 feet and landing safely on target in the New Mexico desert. The experiment, to test the safety of a new high-altitude ejection system, was a success. After retiring from the Air Force, Kittinger continued living the high life, in 1984 completing the first solo hot air balloon journey across the Atlantic.

The Barrage Garage   Bill Gurstelle
If you were to design your perfect all-purpose Maker-style workshop, what would it be like? Make Contributing Editor Bill Gurstelle invites you inside "The Barrage Garage," the ultimate Maker Space filled with the cool tools and supplies that Makers use to create wonderful things. We'll describe the basic tools and supplies your workshop must have, as well as the tools you dream about. Besides a tour of the garage, we'll look at some way-cool projects Barrage Garage projects: catapults, flamethrowers, taffy pulling machines, air cannons, and more.

Make Your Future   Dale Dougherty
There are many reasons why we’re seeing a resurgence of the DIY mindset. Dale Dougherty, founder of Make Magazine and Maker Faire, believes that makers are actively and creatively engaged in changing the world for the better. Makers have a hands-on approach to life and they are resourceful. Makers adapt to changing technologies but they also integrate the old with the new. Many are amateurs and enthusiasts doing what they do for the love of it. Today, making is again becoming a basic life skill as it was for generations of American pioneers and those who lived through the Great Depression. With the Internet, there are even more ways to share technical knowledge and skills so that anyone can learn to make almost anything. In celebrating makers and what they make at Maker Faire, we hope to inspire others to become makers. To paraphrase Alan Kay, the best way to predict the future is to make it yourself.