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Maker Faire Events and Makers By Topic
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Science
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"Crude Awakening" Welding Workshops
Dan Das Mann + Karen Cusolito–Das Womann
Step right up and get your bead on! We will be hosting welding workshops throughout Saturday and Sunday, from 10am 'til 6pm. We will provide gloves, welding hood, instruction, and materials so you can have a go at making your own sculpture. Note: long hair will need to be tied back, no fringie-frayed jeans or open shoes are allowed due to safety issues.
| Location: Outdoors |
1-Bit Music
Tristan Perich
1-Bit Music is a project by artist and composer Tristan Perich that combines his music with primitive, hand-programmed electronics that investigate the foundations of digital sound. Distributed inside a standard CD jewel case, the custom-built electronics synthesize an album of electronic music, illustrating the structure of the circuit and combining that transparent aesthetic with the lowest fidelity sound. (Co-located in the Maker Shed with Loud Objects.)
| Location: Maker Shed |
2πr
Interpretive Arson
2πr: A blisteringly interactive large-scale fire toy that translates anyone's movement into fire. A central stage lined with proximity sensors is surrounded by an outer ring of flame effects, creating huge bursts of flame when a dancer moves onstage.
| Location: Outdoors |
A Schmahl Science Workshop
Last year, A Schmahl Science Workshop delighted youngsters with four hands-on projects from the SciVan. This year, in addition to the SciVan projects, youngsters will also be able to do bio and bio tech experiments in the BioMobileLab. Schmahl Science puts the "sizzle" back into science!
| Location: Expo Red |
AeroPAC High Power Experimental Rocketry
We will have on display several different large rockets as examples of what can be done with this hobby. We will also have construction materials, propellant, motors, etc., on display as well as multiple videos and hand outs. Depending on space we may demonstrate a mid power rocket motor being ignited in the parking lot in a safe stand.
| Location: Fiesta Blue |
Alcohol Can Be a Gas
David Blume
A fast-paced introduction to making moonshine to power your vehicle, garden equipment, or even cooking and heating. Will show how to produce alcohol fuel for about 30 cents per gallon. Powerpoint visuals of equipment how-to's adapting other stuff to work as distilleries or vehicle conversion devices.
Aqua Forest Aquarium
George & Steven Lo
AFA (Aqua Forest Aquarium) is the first aquarium store in the U.S. dedicated to the Nature Aquarium Style concept. We have the largest selection of aquatic plants in the San Francisco Bay Area, an excellent selection of fresh water tropical fish, and carry a full line of aquarium supplies.
| Location: Expo Yellow |
Axis vs. Allies: Model Warship Battle
Rob Wood
Watch 6-foot-long robotic warships duel to the death in a specially built 30’ x 60’ “pond” at this year’s Faire. Sophisticated DIY robotics and guns fire CO2-powered steel balls. Safe for the whole family. Hands-on exhibits and technology demonstrations provided by the Western Warship Combat Club (WWCC) of San Jose, California.
| Location: Outdoors |
Babbage's Difference Engine
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.
Backyard Astronomy with Binoculars
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.
| Location: Fiesta Blue Maker Shed |
Bottled Plants
Grow your own futuristic plantlet on nutrient agar medium.
CalCars
Felix Kramer
CalCars is an enabling organization that seeks to accelerate the adoption of PHEVs. We achieve these goals through advocacy and education as well as through demonstrating technology projects. CalCars itself is a hybrid non-profit organization in that it is comprised of entrepreneurs, engineers, environmentalists and consumers. Our projects tackle national security, jobs and global warming -- at the same time. We are always seeking volunteers to work with us.
| Location: Expo Green |
Camera Obscura Theater
A 10’x10’ camera obscura that will be an interactive theater. Attendees will view the surrounding environment from inside the camera obscura. As the image will be reversed left to right and top to bottom, sculptural elements will be placed outside to enhance the illusion and provide props for entertainment.
| Location: Makers Market |
CCRMA Musical Interactives
Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), Stanford University
See new sonic interactions that have been developed using tools--such as low-cost hardware prototyping kits and a customized open source Linux software distribution--from Stanford University's Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics.
| Location: Expo Green |
Contraptor Lounge
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.
| Location: Outdoors |
Covert Public Messages
Inspired by movies like "They Live", "The Spiderwick Chronicles" and countless spy films, I wanted to create a means of displaying information in public, that only a select few could see. To the unaided eye, the mosaic of tinted film squares seems uniform and holds no particular meaning. But when viewed though a polarized filer (or a pair of polarized sunglasses), the concealed message becomes clear.
| Location: Dark Room |
Creative Repurposing for Science
No money for expensive equipment and materials? Constraints can often lead to more innovative designs! Join RAFT for fun science activities made from discarded, found, and other “creatively repurposed” materials! Resource Area for Teaching (RAFT) is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting hands-on education.
| Location: Expo Red |
Crystal Focus LED "lightsaber" Project
Matthew Carauddo
The most amazing and dynamic sound & light driver board you'll ever see. Made specifically for "LED saber props," in the spirit of the "Star Wars" films by Lucasfilm. (No affiliation or association with Lucasfilm, LTD or Lucasarts.)
| Location: Dark Room |
DIY Relationships
How does being in a relationship help you collaborate? Do problem-solving approaches cross over from projects to life? Relationship hacks and MAKE/CRAFT stories from couples who make stuff (and more) together. Geek comedian Heather conversates with Jillian Northrup and Jeffrey McGre (becausewecan.org) and Christy Canida + Eric Wilhelm (instructables.com).
DNA Fun
Dr. Dawei Lin
A group of creations provides means to use fun model building to understand basic concepts of biology. In particular, a variety of LEGO and knitting DNA models will be used to illustrate the biological features and the beauty of DNA structure. All models can be built in a short time.
| Location: Expo Yellow |
EepyBird
Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz
See the original Internet sensation LIVE! Geysers of soda shoot over twenty feet into the air in this spectacular mint-powered version of the Bellagio Fountains, brought to you by the mad scientists of EepyBird. EepyBird has been featured on Late Night with David Letterman, Ellen, the Today Show, and Mythbusters, and they were named "Best of 2006" by People Magazine. Their online videos have won two Webby Awards and received two Emmy nominations.
Electric Western: Handbuilt Instruments of the High Mojave
Lorin Edwin Parker
Unique and expressive electronic instruments in many forms: vacuum tube theremins, steam-powered synthesizers, singing robot heads, spark gaps, telegraphs, and electrosparklaviers--constructed from recycled, often antique, parts. These instruments connect futuristic synthesis with the western American past.
| Location: Outdoors |
Exploratorium
Meet the makers from the Exploratorium! Scientists, artists, and tinkerers of every stripe will lead activities, share exhibits, and show their work.
Flaming Lotus Girls
The Flaming Lotus Girls are a San Francisco-based group of female and male artists collaborating all year round to create exceptional fire art and provide a resource for learning metalworking and other essential shop skills. Their installations incorporate flame effects and enticing design on a gargantuan scale and are beloved by audiences worldwide.
| Location: Outdoors |
Frankenstein Prototyping
Learn to Make Prototypes for Pennies and More.
| Location: Expo Orange |
Functional Dissection: Wind-up Frogs
Get involved in Functional Dissection, one of the core features of Ambidextrous Magazine, which uncovers the functional beauty and mechanical elegance of products in our lives. Engage in an on-going participatory Functional Dissection with wind-up toy frogs, to learn how to take them apart without destroying them.
| Location: Expo Red |
Gasifier Experimenters Kit/Escape from Berkeley
The Gasifier Experimenters Kit is a "lego system" to help you get started in the biomass thermal conversion art. The kit allows one to easily set up and compare various architectures of gasifiers and pyrolysis units, with a produced gas that can be used for heating, electrical power or transport purposes.
Don't wait for Exxon/Mobil to solve the problem. You can do it yourself with the "trash" you have laying around your house, yard, or farm.
Escape from Berkeley (by any non-petroleum means necessary) is an open road race from Berkeley to Las Vegas of hacked alt powered vehicles, using only fuels scavenged along the route. Half Darpa Grand Challenge, half art car parade.
Building workshops this spring and summer at The Shipyard/ALL Power Labs. The race will be mid-October 2008.
| Location: Outdoors |
Glowing Bacteria Project
A glass panel filled with living bio-luminescent bacteria will be on display. Visitors will be able to play with making swirling patterns of bacterial light.
| Location: Expo Yellow |
Grow Your Own Mushrooms
Far West Fungi
Grow organic exotic mushrooms in your home- Choose to grow Tree Oyster or Shiitake mushrooms on preactivated sawdust substrate blocks. Easy to follow instructions, with mushroom production in 10-14 days.
| Location: Expo Yellow |
Hacking Cool Things with Microcontrollers
Learn how to make microcontrollers do what you want by actually making fun projects at the Faire. Blink lights, hack your brain, play video games, turn off TVs in public places -- microcontrollers can do it all. This is for all skill and experience levels. You can even learn to solder!
| Location: Fiesta Blue Maker Shed |
Heads On Fire::Fab Lab
Heads On Fire
Fab Labs are a global network of design and fabrication laboratories, installed as a resource for community-based innovation. They combine CNC milling machines, specialized software, and the ability to make and program electronics in order to ease production of imagined objects and devices by anyone. We want to guide Makers in using lab; showcase projects from labs around the world.
| Location: Work Shop |
Heavy Pedal Cyclecide Bike Rodeo
Cyclecide has embraced the bicycle as a medium to express our interest in mechanical innovation, kinetic art, and performance. By salvaging bicycles for creative re-use we have produced a fleet of double-decker tall bikes, choppers, tandems, swing bikes, reverse bikes, and others too bizarre to name. The Heavy Pedal Bike Rodeo is a circus style show that highlights these monstrous alter-cycles with stupefying stunts. Our pedal-powered carnival midway of rides and attractions demonstrate the possibilities of human powered fun and engineering.
Hexagons
Jeremy Smith
I'll show construction kits for Platonic solids.
Using a design printed on a single sheet of paper or card, you can turn the design into an intriguing 3D model of a Platonic solid. Included are popup dodecahedron calendar, tetrahedron pyramid puzzle, and cube of rotating cubes.
| Location: Expo Red |
Home Chemistry Experiments
The author of "Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments" performs a series of experiments right out of the pages of the book.
HomeBrewed Robots!
A variety of electro-mechanical creatures including "Springy Thingy," a Burningman Artbot, and his faithful cybernetic companion, "Rusty."
"Homer the HomeBrewed Humanoid" performing Kung-Fu-Fighting.
The "LosiBot," an autonomous radio-controlled car.
"Wirey," AKA My Little Blue Robot "Wired".
"SnoopBot," a hacked puppet.
And the PROTOBot Army: We will settle for nothing less then total world domination.
| Location: Robo Games |
Howtoons
Saul Griffith + Nick Dragotta
Part comic strip and part science experiment, Howtoons shows kids how to find fun new uses for household items like soda bottles, duct tape, and mop buckets. Authors Saul Griffith and Nick Dragotta will be there with demos and hands-on projects to prove that kids can make almost anything!
| Location: Expo Red |
Howtoons
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.
Huge Tesla Coils and Tower Electronique
Three huge Tesla Coils with lots of electricity and a Tower Electronique, a musical instrument that plays in the air. Also, flying balls machine, solar energy musical machines, and much more.
| Location: Dark Room |
Hydraulic Flight Simulator
The Hydraulic Flight Simulator is a tabletop device that allows students of aviation to see in real-time the dynamic relationship between power and pitch. It show how energy is transferred from the engine to the plane as airspeed, how airspeed is turned into altitude and how altitude can be exchanged for airspeed. To do this, the Hydraulic Flight Simulator uses the medium of water to represent the energy present when an airplane is in flight.
The Hydraulic Flight Simulator was created to behave realistically, accounting for the loss of energy from drag, the effect of gravity, the loss of lifting ability due to density altitude, induced drag at high angles of attack and the complete loss of lift due a stall.
The Simulator can be used to demonstrate cruise, terminal velocity, service ceiling, slow flight, stall and stall recovery, decent, "dead-stick" decent and landing.
Instructional topics include discussion of potential energy (fuel supply and altitude) and kinetic energy (air speed) and the four forces acting on an airplane in flight; thrust and drag, lift and gravity.
Featured in MAKE (12): <a href="http://www.make-digital.com/make/vol12/?pg=154&pm=2&u1=friend">http://www.make-digital.com/make/vol12/?pg=154&pm=2&u1=friend
</a>
| Location: The Hangar |
Innovation in Beekeeping
Bees, beekeeping, beehive design. Learn the how-tos and tips from a beekeeping innovator whose methods include maintaining bee colonies by relying on the natural strength of local strains of bees; by completely eliminating the need for antibiotics or chemical compounds for pest and disease control; and through techniques that allow beekeepers to be self-sufficient practitioners.
Instructables.com
Come meet the staff and play with our laser cutter, giant homemade Lite-Brite, bicycle-wheel kinetic sculpture, mouse mouse, and other awesome projects! Learn how to submit your own!
Stop by to laser-etch your cell phone, visit, and pick up some free Instructables Robot stickers!
| Location: Expo Yellow |
Jack Sparx and his Electric Toys
Electricity you can see and feel will thrill those that come visit me! Small and medium Tesla coils, a large Van de Graff gnerator that will shock you if you like. Learn how a Jacob's Ladder is built and see one displayed. If you enjoy lightning storms, you'll have fun as we play with my high voltage toys!
| Location: Dark Room |
JL-Exotics
A selection of dart frogs and related supplies.
| Location: Expo Yellow |
Judy: My Dinner with Android
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.
Justin Gray's Fire Sculpture Robots and Electric Motorcycles
This year Justin Gray is bringing two fire sculpture robots and three lithium battery powered electric motorcycles!
Kepler's Orrery
Kepler's Orrery is an interactive gravity simulator that composes & plays generative music while visually demonstrating physics equations. Each simulation starts with a "galaxy" of bodies that attract each other, move, and swirl around under the influence of their mutual gravity. When the bodies collide, they make music. Each one is assigned a melody and an instrument and plays its next note at each collision. You can watch the simulation projected on the wall, or you can change the system using its interactive kiosk: experminent with physics constants; see the force field; change the mass or position of the bodies to see how the initial conditions affect the outcome.
| Location: Expo Yellow |
LED Hula Hoop
Michael Nuzzi
The LED Hula Hoop is a fun product used by professional performers, dancers, and anyone interested in having fun making cool streams of color in the dark. They can be seen at festivals like Burning Man, and can sometimes cost as much as $300. But you can make one yourself for a lot less. Instructions can be found on Craft Magazine Vol 6. But we will explore a simpler way to make an even better LED hoop for both adults and kids using minimal tools.
| Location: Dark Room |
Life Size Mousetrap
The LIFE SIZE MOUSETRAP is a fantastically hand crafted, 16 piece, 50,000-lb. interactive KINETIC SCULPTURE set atop a 6,500-square-foot game board.
This giant Rube Goldberg style contraption comes complete with a VAUDEVILLIAN style show, original MUSICAL SCORE by The one woman band
Esmerelda Strange, Sexy Mice CAN-CAN DANCERS, Clown workers, acrobatic HI JINKS, and other SPECTACULAR SCENES dedicated to the pursuit of spectacle-laden FUN!
| Location: Makers Market |
Lightning Laboratory Prototype
Greg Leyh
An experimental twin-tower system that generates large-scale artificial lightning.
| Location: Expo Yellow |
Lil Ju Ju Mobile Pinball Museum
Back by popular demand, the Lil' Ju Ju is a modified 1947 Spartan Manor Travel Trailer with a strengthened chassis, hydraulic auto leveling legs, and enough batteries/inverter to power a Jukebox and 6 pinball machines. A true mobile pinball arcade on wheels, featuring outer space themed pinball electromechanical machines.
| Location: Robo Games |
LinuxAstronomy.org
Eugene Clement
LinuxAstronomy is a collaboration between a group of volunteers, teenagers who need some guidance and some people from industry with an interest in astronomy. One current project that is being worked on is a remote controlled telescope. More information regarding this project and others being worked on can be found at http://www.linuxastronomy.org.
| Location: The Hangar |
Lost in Space Experience
Makers can relive the Lost in Space experience with a working ROBOT, the Jupiter II computer, a balloon breaking Laser Pistol and Rocket Belt simulator that can zoom around the Jupiter II's crash site. All items are custom made and hand crafted to the specifications of the original TV show.
| Location: Expo Green |
Loud Objects
Agog and agaggle! The Loud Objects set sail for a feral reimagination of circuit bending. Loftily wielding soldering irons against a ramshackle overhead projector, these heroic lads from New York City (Tristan Perich the composer, Kunal Gupta the programmer, and Katie Shima the architect) wire up live musical circuits and gerrymander lo-fi electronic noise. The first few minutes are characterized by bleak silence as the loud objects swiftly assemble an initial circuit; thereafter a lush and percussive poetry overwhelms the arena as the trio heroically hacks microchips into a beastly swarm of 1-bit noise. These maneuverings are projected physically from the smokiness, hulking beyond the performers, gargantuan spectres stripped from the pillars of antiquated technology to their lurid and noble spirit. (Co-located in the Maker Shed with 1-Bit Music.)
| Location: Maker Shed Maker Shed |
LUNAR Society: Rocket Launch Pad
Craig Saunders
Be a rocket scientist! Build and fly a rocket with LUNAR, the Livermore Unit of the National Association of Rocketry, the nation's largest model rocket club.
| Location: Fiesta Blue |
Magnet Sculpture Kit
Carl Morris
Experience the magic of rare earth magnets firsthand with this fun sculpture building kit.
| Location: Maker Shed Maker Shed |
Magnetoscope
Adjust the position of magnets above and below a puddle of ferrofluid which jumps up to form a dynamic spikey mass. This hands-on exhibit dramatically demonstrates the shape of magnetic fields and the macroscale properties of nanoscale materials-science. The internal hand-cranked mechanisms are illuminated and follow the designs of Leonardo da Vinci.
| Location: Expo Red |
Make Play Day
A treasure trove of electronics, construction materials, and expert assistance has all you need to turn a creative doodle in your noodle into something physical. Drop in or stay all day.
| Location: Fiesta Blue |
Make the Future!
What could Maker Faire look like in 2018? And where is that future already here? Make the Future! shows exciting visions from the next decade of making and manufacturing, and connects the future to the prototypes already being built today. Come to see how you’ll be making the future.
| Location: Expo Green |
Man-made Lightning
Vicki Johnson
This 5-foot-tall Tesla Coil generates dazzling, long, electrical arcs while also revealing basic physics principles with the Jacob's Ladder, Faraday's Cage, and grounding.
| Location: Dark Room |
Microsoft Makers
A variety of innovative makers demonstrate new uses for some of our programs and produts.
Molecular Gastronomy
Informal talk and demo of spherification and other aspects of Molecular Gastronomy.
Multi-Touch Table
We built a multi-touch table-top display for about $500 in materials. It uses infrared LEDs, a web cam and a sheet of acrylic. We have a multi-touch enabled music sequencer, plasma/lightning simulation, physics simulation and pong game.
| Location: Dark Room |
My Brain Machine
Glasses to synchronize your brainwaves with a pre-programmed sequence, from wakefulness into deep meditation and back out into fabulousness, all along hallucinating wild patterns.
Mystery Phones
Greg MacLaurin
Disassemble old telephones and create a Ghost Phone, to listen in on a pre-recorded conversation; and a Party Line, for your very own private standalone phone system.
| Location: Expo Yellow |
Neo-robotica Insectus
Tony Pratkanis
Buzz by to see robots based on the logic of social insects: fire-fighting robots, six-legged ant-like walking robots, and a robotic honeybee blimp.
| Location: Expo Yellow |
Neverwas Haul
Inspired by the works of Jules Verne, the Neverwas Haul is a self-propelled, 3-story Victorian house on wheels, and the home of the Traveling Academy of Unnatural Sciences, an intrepid group of explorers who are using steam-powered engines to circumnavigate the globe.
| Location: Outdoors |
Omega Recoil
John Behrens
A group of Tesla Coil performers previously associated with Dr. Megavolt creates new and different styles of Tesla Coil based interactive art. Our centerpiece is a 9'30,000 Tesla Coil. We will interact with a suit and other Maker's projects. We will test your projects for you with the Coil.
| Location: Outdoors |
Optical Acoustics
This is a set of MP3 players that have the LED outputs. The modulated light is received by a photo-diode amplifier and the players send messages that are transmitted to various stars through a spotlight. The receiver is in a small telescope.
| Location: Dark Room |
Pinbowl Chaos Generator
A large polycarbonate dish 3 feet in diameter contains 4 bumpers, 3 Neon/Argon rings, and 1 to 3 pinballs. When activated, the bumpers begin energizing, sending balls careening and colliding with each other and triggering the gas tubes and creating a cacophony of light and sound. They eventually lose momentum, roll back down to the bottom, only to be sent on their way once again by the bumpers. This gives a glimpse of the chaos theory and Brownian motion, besides being a spectacle that is hard to take your eyes off.
| Location: Robo Games |
Point Focus Solar
The general scope of the exhibit covers some description and contextual analysis of the solar concentrators. This includes power towers at Barstow, Wiezman Institutes prototype beamdown technology, ring arrays, compact linear freznal arrays from Australia, Kramer junctions parabolic trough plants, aspects of the reflective lens. Other technologically relevant threads will include windowed flux reaction chambers for making flux augmented fuels and detoxifying waste, space propulsion, space chemical materials processing, and space power systems in relation to terrestrial implementation.
| Location: Makers Market |
Propane, It's a Gas! Fun and Fire with the 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.
R2-D2 Astromech Droids
We're members of the R2 Builders Club. A loosely organize international group of Star Wars fans who love to build droids.
We've been featured in MAKE Magazine, appeared at lots of events throughout the country, and we run droid building workshops and panels.
We will be roaming around the event throughout the weekend with frequent stops back at our Rebel Base to charge our batteries. There we can answer questions on how easy it is to get started building your very own astromech droid.
| Location: Expo Green |
RepRap Self-Replicating 3D Printer Project
The RepRap project's goal is to build a self-replicating 3D printer. It uses a print head much like a motorized hot glue gun to build up new plastic parts for numerous daughter machines. We anticipate achieving self-replication quite soon.
| Location: Work Shop |
Restored Pinball Machines
Come play some awesome pinball machines from the '80s and '90s! Fully restored, beautifully cleaned, Bally/Williams from the golden age of Solid State Pinball.
Have questions about finding / restoring a machine? Need help with restoration? We'll be there to answer your questions!
(There'll be some microcontroller action, too!)
| Location: Robo Games |
RoboActivity Kits & Bots
Walt Perko
My goal is developing new technologies to bring the world of robotics to a younger more general consumer. RoboKeyboard, RoboActivity Kit Instructions, R2PV1 robot FPS/CTF gaming system. I have some prototypes for limited demonstrations.
| Location: Expo Red |
S/L Pegasus
Aiming to capture a speed record next year, this 23ft steamboat, originally built in '82, is undergoing constant revisions.
| Location: Expo Yellow |
Sei Boku Bonsai Kai Display
Our display will include bonsai trees, trees in development, literature on bonsai and bonsai activities, and speciality tools used in bonsai. There will be a continuous demonstration of bonsai development.
SETI@home
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.
Shy Plant Project
A miniature, self-contained greenhouse is filled with "shy" plants. These plants intrigued Charles Darwin who studied their seismonastic movements (their ability to move rapidly in response to touch, electricity and heat.) Often marketed as 'novelty' plants that are fun for kids, they are still the subject of current research on their special method of movement. Visitors are invited to experience their movements first hand by gently touching them with a variety of implements, including their hands.
| Location: Expo Yellow |
Solar Dyeing
Using solar energy to dye yarn, fibers and fabrics. This is not sunprinting, but using the solar energy to set dyes.
| Location: Makers Market |
Spandex Graphs
"Imagine rubber graph paper", scientists have said for generations. Our Spandex graphs stretch a point, and exaggerate so much that you'd think they're politicians. Come experiment with your own ideas. Clever, cool, and funny ideas may be published in The Journal of Irreproducible Results, the science humor magazine.
| Location: Expo Yellow |
Sparkle Kits
Amy Parness
Sparkle Labs is releasing their new DIY Design Electronics Kit at Maker Faire! Harness the power of the electron! Create games, toys and contraptions with these fundamental components. Follow the easy instructions to make a light detector, LED flasher, noisemaker and more. Once you master the basics, you’ll be ready to create your own doodads. Neato! Everything you need to get started is right inside, including nifty switches, buttons, diodes, capacitors, transistors and regulators. Sparkle Labs will also appear on the Make Demo stage.
| Location: Maker Shed Maker Shed |
Steampunk
How can you be authentic to yourself and part of a (sub)culture?
Through the lens of Steampunk, a meta-subculture that is currently at its tipping point of growth, we explore the inevitable question a subculture faces as it grows from disparate DIY roots. Who and what belongs? Can it transform permaculture?
Geek comedian Heather Gold converses with computer and car modifier Jake von Slatt (http://steampunkworkshop.com/); Abney Park singer Captain Robert (http://www.abneypark.com/); and Steampunk magazine editor and wearable art creator + artist Libby Bulloff (http://www.exoskeletoncabaret.com).
| Location: Expo Green |
Steampunk Spectacular Group Table
Libby Bulloff
Participant in the group space arranged for Jake von Slatt, Datamancer, and Steampunk Magazine to present our wares and talk to general passers-by about steampunk. I will be representing Steampunk Magazine with Magpie Killjoy and showing my artwork.
| Location: Outdoors |
Stereoscopic Cameras and Displays
Come see the 3D imaging camera rigs, display devices, and stereoscopic imagery. We are also including live projected 3D video, the PSP/antique stereoscope, and video phantograms.
In addition to this, we will be offering a workshop on how to take digital stereoscopic photos.
| Location: Expo Green |
SWARM
SWARM is a kinetic art work of semi-autonomous spherical robots ("Orbs"). Each robot has a shell 30 inches in diameter, with batteries, motors, audio system and color LED illumination inside. The SWARM is under the command of an on-board computer with wireless connectivity to other orbs and a central computer.
TCHO
TCHO is a new kind of chocolate company for a new generation of chocolate enthusiasts. Modern, innovative and fun, TCHO is dedicated to creating obsessively good dark chocolate and the best chocolate experience.
| Location: Makers Market |
Team FredNet Is Going to the Moon
Team FredNet is going to the Moon!
Team FredNet is a registered competitor for the Google Lunar X-Prize. We are busy planning and building prototypes of the spacecraft, lunar lander, and lunar rover we will use to compete for the $20 million dollar first prize.
Come learn about our team, our plans, and drive our rover prototype at the Maker Faire!
| Location: The Hangar |
Tech D.I.Y. for Moms and Kids
Tech D.I.Y. encourages mothers to learn about technology with their kids in ways that are simple and fun. The projects teach electronic crafts and have solid engineering lessons behind them.
| Location: Expo Red |
Techne
Techne is a Greek word that describes both technology and craft, as well as the poetics of how things are made in the world. It is also a group of artists, environmentally focused technologies, and makers in an exhibit curated by Phillip Ross.
| Location: Expo Yellow |
TechShop
Jim Newton
Come to the TechShop area and try your hand at using some of the machines and equipment available at this local, membership-based workshop.
| Location: Work Shop |
The Art of Motion Control -- Sisyphus
Bruce Shapiro has been playing with techno-junk (castoffs from the automation industry) since 1990. His smaller creations are used to teach kids the fundamentals of robotics in the classroom, while his larger kinetic sculptures can be found in science museums throughout the world.
| Location: Fiesta Blue |
The Cell Project from GalaxyGoo
We build 3D models of cells, organelle by organelle, out of colorful clay. Imagine how organelles fill the space and group together in a living cell. Once the clay dries, we slice the cell models into cross-sections. This is a hands-on activity.
| Location: Expo Red |
The Computer History Museum
The Computer History Museum will provide Maker Faire attendees with a preview to its much-anticipated exhibit opening in May, Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine No. 2. The Mountain View-based Museum is where computing history lives and is home to one of the largest international collections of computing artifacts in the world.
| Location: Expo Yellow |
The Electric Giraffe
Lindsay Lawlor created the giant robot Giraffe. The toy he used is the little Tamiya model giraffe that demonstrates a single motor walking system. Lindsay scaled up this tiny model 24 times to create a huge machine that people can ride and interact with. Each year the robot gains more and more computer power and intelligence, and is slowly coming to life!
| Location: Expo Yellow |
The Hydrogen Economy
The Hydrogen Economy is an interactive fire sculpture that produces hundreds of gently rising hydrogen bubbles. Participants ignite the bubbles using dragon-shaped torches. The experience of actually setting off small explosions in a safe and protected environment is breathtaking, one-of-a-kind, and surely never forgotten.
The Komegatone (and Various Other Works)
The komegatone is an analog synth built into a 1940's era. The leather bound carrying case is stained with paint and custom etched. I will also display my two custom MIDI controllers were people can interact with my display.
| Location: Expo Yellow |
The Paper Airplane Guy
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.
| Location: Maker Shed Maker Shed |
The Power of Prototypes
The Power of Prototypes is an exhibit of objects made by engineers, artists, museum designers, and furniture makers. These objects show how humbly complex ideas begin, and how makers of all backgrounds use prototyping to create.
| Location: Expo Yellow |
The Skull: Ongoing Re-use and Movies
A big damn 9 ft tall skull—made of toxic waste. Rolls around with eyes and teeth made out of flat panels. Has a projector mounted and at night will be showing classic movies on old tech: Plan9, Night of the Living Dead, The Last Man on Earth, and a bunch of old Flash Gordon serials, etc. In addition, the skull makes a dandy PA system and can be used remotely over the network (you can send txt to the skull and it will read it out in one of hundreds of artificial voices, or we can use a streaming audio system to emit mere human voices). The skull also has cameras so you can see the reactions of the passerby. It moves under its own power (not very well yet), playing the theme from Jaws.
| Location: Outdoors |
The Stribe
The Stribe is a touch-based music or video controller with no moving parts. It employs 8 touch-sensitive strips flanked by LED bar-graph displays. The controller is user-configurable, connects via standard USB, and is designed to be used with music interface software such as Max/MSP, Reaktor, and others. Via host software, the Stribe can control audio hardware and software via MIDI or OSC. The LED display can be computer controlled to respond to input from the sensors, or to independent software control, or both. The entire project is open source, meaning the circuits, firmware, and software are available on-line and are licensed under Creative Commons and GNU. Illustrated build instructions and a helpful Forum are also on-line. There is a small but growing community of Stribe developers who are building Stribes, and writing new firmware and software applications. The Stribe was inspired by Brian Crabtree's monome 40h project, and is an ideal companion to a monome button controller.
<a href="http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/02/18/hands-on-interview-stribe-multi-touch-controller/">Here is an article about the Stribe from CreateDigitalMusic</a>.
| Location: Dark Room |
The Village Blacksmith
Master Blacksmith Michel Olson, and Masterful Storyteller Christy Horne, are the husband and wife team who have history ringing in the ears of audiences all over the Western U.S. Their Stage Fort Smith is a Monster Truck to behold and when you add the fabulous storytelling with live anvil accompaniment they become edutainment for the entire family. Everything Michel bashes out is given away to audience members following every show.
| Location: Outdoors |
The Visible Pinball (Electromechanical)
A vintage EM pinball machine from 1975 has been housed in a clear acrylic cabinet. It is completely functional down to the coin mechanisms that initiate game play. Even the playfield itself is clear so that the user is able to view all the components in action as they play the machine. Spectators will also see the relays actuating, solenoids, stepper switches, score motor, spinners, targets, bumpers and sling-shots in action. The head is clear displaying the score reels, lights, relays and switches in motion. The original artwork is visible although translucent, so you see through it also. This exhibit amazes visitors of all ages and stimulates interest in electro-mechanics.
| Location: Robo Games |
TimeScience TimeWindow and Stop Motion Theater
Tim Brown
It's play-time! Stop in at the Stop Motion Theater and be a part of a collaborative movie. Or take a timeout with our favorite pastime, the TimeWindow and make time fly with the TimeController -- experience a year in a minute, or push the button and turn the dial to go back in time and watch the Maker Faire unfold from the start.
| Location: Expo Green |
Toolmonger
A large dinosaur assembled from parts made by schools, a Stanley nail driving small dinosaur assembly for kids, a demolition project, and woodworking area.
| Location: Work Shop |
Toy Boat Powered by Steam Pulse Jet
A toy boat made of aluminum, powered by a steam pulse-jet, with no moving parts. The steam is made by a small alcohol burner. It will run quietly in a pond with only 3 inches of water for 20 minutes between refueling. Display includes unique parent dies/tooling made of cast metal that melts in boiling water.
| Location: Expo Yellow |
Trade A Favor
Trade A Favor gives you the power to do a favor for anyone and receive a favor in return. You decide what favors you trade, and you decide who sees your favors. Based in Pasadena, California, Trade A Favor is dedicated to helping people achieve their goals by sharing their talents.
| Location: Expo Orange |
UCSC March Slugness!
The CMPE-118/L Introduction to Mechatronics class at UC Santa Cruz was tasked to build a robot that can throw pingpong balls into baskets illuminated by IR beacons. Teams of three built the robots which must run completely autonomously for each round of 2 minutes with no interference from builders.
| Location: Expo Green |
Urban Permaculture: Hands-on Seedballs
The Merritt College Permaculture Class will show you how to make seedballs. Ever notice how well weeds grow around here? Want to grow food like weeds? Learn how to use open pollinated seeds, clay, compost, and grow food or food for local wildlife (native seeds). Mix them all together and seedballs can become seedbombs of explosive fecundity!
| Location: Makers Market near Techne group |
uScope
This modified shop microscope is being developed in cooperation with PATH.org and Stanford to be used in rural health clinics for high resolution pathology work. It uses diffractive film and off-axis LED ring illumination to effectively replace, for $5, the much more costly kohler illumination used in top-of-the-line >$1000 microscopes such as shown here. This solar recharged, Li-ion powered fully working unit will be used to demonstrate Malaria and Tuberculosis detection in bllod and sputum smears, which is a pressing medical need in developing countries. We also are producing small scale UV-C and electrochlorinators (in partnership with MSR and MIOX corp) also for use in the developing for world water purification whci will also be shown at the booth
| Location: Expo Green |
Video Puppetry
Video Puppetry is a new method for creating computer animations using simple craft supplies, a web cam, and a computer. It takes just a few minutes to go from story concept to a final rendered animation, and requires no skill or experience beyond that of children's playtime puppetry. Character motions are extracted from a video stream using real-time computer vision techniques.
| Location: Expo Yellow |
Voxhead
A mechanical vocal tract with tongue, lips and jaw for a robotic head to sing, babble and share attention.
| Location: Expo Red |
Watershed Restoration
Daniel McCormick
| Location: Expo Yellow |
What Happened to the Chemistry Set?
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.
| Location: Maker Shed Maker Shed |
Whirlygig Emoto
Thomas Sepe
A steampunk inspired steam-electric hybrid motorcycle. Built on a highly modified chassis of a 1967 Tote Goat, the Whirlygig has a 15hp 24V electric motor, with a 100psi steam boiler on the back to run steam effects. Using mostly found objects or recycled materials, in addition to custom fabrication, the Whirlygig is a blast from your future past!
| Location: Outdoors |
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