Maker Faire

Things I Learned from Knitting   Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
The Yarn Harlot strikes again! Bestselling knitting author and humorist Stephanie Pearl-McPhee examines age-old aphorisms in light of knitting.

Five Dangerous Things Your Kids Should Do   Gever Tulley
Gever Tulley
Gever Tulley will talk about the Tinkering School and the five dangerous things you should let your kids do.

MacGyver: The Making of a Cultural Icon   Lee Zlotoff
Lee Zlotoff
The writer of MAKE's Makeshift feature was father to McGyver, who was based on his own father. Learn about the origins of the MacGyver series and why MacGyver has become such a cultural icon.

Howtoons   Nick Dragotta , Saul Griffith
Saul Griffith + Nick Dragotta
Authors Saul Griffith and Nick Dragotta talk about their popular Howtoons--art comic strip and part science experiment--that shows kids how to find fun new uses for household items.

Contraptor Lounge   Jake von Slatt , Libby Bulloff , Magpie Killjoy , Meredith Scheff-king , Molly "Porkshanks" Friedrich , Richard Nagy , Abney Park
Jake von Slatt , Libby Bulloff , Magpie Killjoy , Meredith Scheff-king , Molly "Porkshanks" Friedrich , Richard Nagy , Abney Park
Leading Steampunk practitioners will talk about "contrapting" techniques and the creative process, including the metalworking and finishing techniques they use in their widely acclaimed Steampunk tech projects (such as von Slatt's Steampunk keyboard and monitor, and Datamancer's key-wound Victorian laptop). They'll also talk a little bit about their design philosophy and how one can "steampunkify" modern gadgetry.

Babbage's Difference Engine   Computer History Museum , Tim Robinson
Computer History Museum
Learn about the Victorian inventor Charles Babbage and his Difference Engine No. 2, which goes on display at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View.

SETI@home   Dan Werthimer
Dan Werthimer
Are We Alone? Is Anybody Out There? Chief SETI@home scientist Dan Werthimer will discuss the possibility of life in the universe, SETI@home, and how you can have the small but captivating possibility that your computer will detect the first signal from a civilization beyond Earth.

Backyard Astronomy with Binoculars   Robert Thompson
Robert Thompson
With the advent of inexpensive, high-power telescopes priced at under $250, amateur astronomy is now within the reach of anyone, and with the right binoculars, you can make this even cheaper. The author of the "Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders" explains how to get started on the cheap, and where to find hundreds of spectacular objects in the deep sky -- double and multiple stars as well as spectacular star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. You can find Robert in the Maker Shed, and he'll also be appearing on the Maker Main Stage as well as the Make Demo stage.

Kite Aerial Photography   Cris Benton
Cris Benton
The Bay Area hosts a particularly active community of kite aerial photographers. Local KAP artists will demonstrate several approaches to controlling an aerial camera including inexpensive robotic cradles, radio-controlled apparatus, and specialty panoramic rigs.

Extreme Craft   Garth Johnson
Garth Johnson
Extreme Craft is a website that gleefully explores the gray area between art and craft.  Does a popsicle stick Viking ship qualify as art?  Will the souls of Polish grannies who knit scandalous lace underwear be doomed to eternal Hellfire?  Can Craft be used to combat Nigerian email scammers?  Find out the answer to these questions and much much more on www.extremecraft.com.

Creating Disney-themed Parks Designs   Tony Baxter
Tony Baxter
Senior VP of Disney Imagineering's Creative Development Group,Tony Baxter has played a key role in the design and creation of many Disney attractions and theme parks of the last 25 years, including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, the Indiana Jones Adventure, and the overall creative role for Disneyland and Disneyland Paris.

Authentic Innovation   Mister Jalopy
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.

Propane, It's a Gas! Fun and Fire with the Flaming Lotus Girls   Flaming Lotus Girls

Join the Flaming Lotus Girls for the ins and outs of making large scale Fire Art through their own unique blend of collaboration. They will discus the secrets behind their famous "Poofers," how to have fun and be safe with propane, and give a sneak peak of their latest project, Mutopia.

Laser Harp   Stephen Hobley
Stephen Hobley
Built using the Arduino controller, the laser harp is a musical instrument and performance piece. See <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLVXmsbVwUs">a video of Stephen's performance.</a>

Judy: My Dinner with Android   Tom Sgouros
Tom Sgouros
Since the dawn of the computer age, people have argued about whether computers can ever be intelligent. But has anyone tried simply asking one? Intrepid researcher Tom Sgouros built a robot in his basement and after literally weeks of lessons in phonetics, elocution and the elements of logic, he and Judy present their findings here.

Art Lessing and the Flower Vato   Art Lessing and the Flower Vato
Art Lessing and the Flower Vato
We are a DIY ear-friendly music ensemble with a variety of home-made, one-of-a-kind TONAL instruments. The "Space Bass" has become legendary to some in Sacramento. We have been playing the Second Saturday Art Walk in Sacramento for several years where we showcase these creations. We are not a noise outfit or a jam band.

The Image of Computers in Popular Music   Johannes Grenzfurthner
Johannes Grenzfurthner
A talk (with examples) by monochrom, presented by Johannes Grenzfurthner. Bourgeois culture was paralyzed and finally overrun by modern technologies which broke through the traditional class barriers. It went into a panic and produced these very stupid technophobic manifestos and images e.g. of "the computer". Pop music discovered and explored the computer not only as a musical instrument but also as something to sing and reflect about in a less aversive way. In doing so it influenced the conception people had of computers. The public image of computers was shaped by groups such as Kraftwerk as well as through obscure Schlager songs such as France Gall's "Computer No. 3". Not only was that image influenced by high culture computer panic but also by naïve technomania, and so it delivered the very dialectics of the computer as a means of cultural technology in capitalist society.

MacGyver: The Making of a Cultural Icon   Lee Zlotoff
Lee Zlotoff
The writer of MAKE's Makeshift feature was father to McGyver, who was based on his own father. Learn about the origins of the MacGyver series and why MacGyver has become such a cultural icon.

String Theory   Autumn Wiggins
Autumn Wiggins
Can we save the planet by making things? Autumn shows how indie crafting can promote Cradle to Cradle practices.

Interaction Techniques Using the Wii Remote   Johnny Lee
Johnny Lee
Presentation of two interactive projects using the Nintendo Wii remote.

What Happened to the Chemistry Set?   Robert Thompson
Robert Thompson
The author of the "Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments" examines the decline of the chemistry set and explains how to set up and use a home chemistry lab and conduct experiments in basic chemistry. You can find Robert in the Maker Shed, and he'll also be appearing on the Maker Main Stage as well as the Make Demo stage.

Maker Magic   Dan Weiss
Dan Weiss
To make magic, you have to MAKE magic. Come see MAKE author Dan Weiss perform magic tricks, talk about how they were made, and the tradition of making magic tricks in his family.

The Maltese Falcon   Adam Savage
Adam Savage
How the making of things (for me) has changed over the years. How it's changed what I do, and how what I do has changed it, as told through the story of my attempts to make myself a Maltese Falcon.

The Paper Airplane Guy   John Collins
John Collins
Learn how to make a great paper airplane from the Internationally award-winning paper airplane designer and author John Collins, the master. He will demonstrate an extraordinary collection of aircrafts. They flap their wings, circle back, flip over, and fly back upside down, and some can stay aloft indefinitely. The Paper Airplane Guy will be in the Maker Shed, but you can also catch him on the Maker Main Stage in Fiesta.

21st Century Woodworking Tools   Bill Young , Ted Hall
Bill Young , Ted Hall
The founder of ShopBot tells how his company was an outgrowth of his passion for building wooden boats and that led him to create an affordable, capable CNC machine for the rest of us.

The Ultimate Challenge for Makers   Saul Griffith
Saul Griffith
Is saving the planet the ultimate maker challenge?

iPhone Hacking Lab   Adam Stolarz , Damien Stolarz , David Jurick
Adam Stolarz , Damien Stolarz , David Jurick
Your iPhone has more features than you think. Come to the iPhone Hacking Lab to see everything your iPhone can do. We'll have tutorials on jailbreaking and SIM-unlocking. The iPhone Hacking Lab will be available in the Maker Shed and don't miss the tutorial on the Maker Main Stage in Fiesta.

Authentic Innovation   Mister Jalopy
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.