2010 Call for Rube Goldberg Machines!
We're partnering with the Rube Goldberg Foundation to bring a new, all-ages machine contest in 2010. Get rules and instructions here!
| Location: Redwood 417 |
Abby and the Pipsqueaks
The 3 time AWARD WINNING and UNESCO FEATURED ARTISTS: Abby and the Pipsqueaks, from the Bay Area, CA.
A cartoon concept band, Abby and the Pipsqueaks brings to life award winning original songs in a zany show with jazzy joke bits, science segments, gym and dance classes, magic, and more!! ...the age 2-6 group has been struggling to find its voice in pop music. That void has been filled... SF Weekly's Listen Up by, Dan Dion. Motown meets the Muppets meets Schoolhouse Rocks, Abby and the Pipsqueaks is sure to inspire and delight.
Accessorize with Toys!
Ever wonder what to do with those random small toy parts too dear to toss but no longer any fun? Learn how to revitalize old toys into bangles, earrings and brooches by utilizing basic jewelry techniques. San Francisco designers, emiko oye and Shana Astrachan (members of the Metal Arts Critique Collective) will show you how to approach jewelry making with alternative materials and simple craft tools. Participants are encouraged to bring small plastic and rubber toy parts to work with or contribute. All ages welcome; especially great for families.
| Location: Show Barn 802 |
Applied Science Research
James Dann
We are a high school in Menlo Park. Students will display their projects from my Applied Science Research class.
There are about 10 in total and include a Wave energy device, a regenerative braking project on a bicycle, a hover craft, maglev model train with self propulsion system, art with Ferro-fluid, high speed photography (using Make Magazine design), Moon orbit measurement device, ...
| Location: Expo Hall 114 |
Art Kits for Kids
Eye Can Art is a Seattle-based company making high-quality art kits for kids. Current projects available include collograph printmaking, encaustic wax drawing, sumi-e brush painting, and accordian-style book making. The kits are a great introduction to some simple yet beautiful techniques, and come packaged in lovely, reusable containers.
| Location: Expo Hall 94 |
Artgolf 2009!
Returning to Maker Faire for the third year, it's Artgolf 2009. Those fun and chaotic favorites of the shrink-ray, the tubes, the tiki jungle, the classic castle, and more are all here! As well as a whole new hole for 2009, based on working together to help each other out!
| Location: Outside East Grass O |
Bay Area LEGO Users Group
The Bay Area LEGO Users Group presents a large model train layout made entirely of LEGO, as well as a variety of other creations made by our members.
| Location: Expo Hall 139 |
Blinkybugs and LED Art
Learn to make blinking electro-mechanical insects with Ken Murphy, creator of Blinkybugs. They're made from just a few simple parts, but respond to movement in an almost lifelike way, blinking their LED eyes when their antennae pick up even the slightest vibration.
Ken will also demonstrate his LED Art Kit. This is another simple project: a framed piece of luminescent LED art that projects an endlessly shifting pattern of color and light on a translucent screen. They're easy to make and each one is unique.
| Location: Maker Shed Maker Shed |
Craftster Make and Take
1. Make your own 8-bit video game art coasters with a devilishly simple technique using inexpensive plastic fuse beads and an iron. You’ll be as addicted to this craft as you were to the games they pay homage to.
2. Learn how to make a fabulous stacked ring out of vintage buttons. Simple, or stacked high and glamorous, you can express your individual style with this easy but impressive craft.
Fun for kids and for grown ups!
| Location: Expo Hall 259 |
Cyclecide Bike Rodeo and Carnival Midway
From salvaged bicycles we've created a fleet of double-decker tall bikes, choppers, tandems, swing bikes, reverse bikes, and more. The Heavy Pedal Bike Rodeo highlights these monstrous alter-cycles with stupefying stunts, while our pedal-powered carnival rides and attractions demonstrate the possibilities of human-powered fun and engineering. Little kids, big kids and kids-at-heart can all participate in our shows!
| Location: Midway M4 |
Diet Coke and Mentos Fountains
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.
| Location: West Lot WL05 |
Electronics Demystified
Be not afraid! You don't have to be an electrical engineer to have fun with electronics. MAKE blogger and video maker Collin Cunningham shares a crash course through some basics, and a few tips to get you started making fun things with electronics.
Elementeo Chemistry Card Game
Anshul Samar
Elementeo Chemistry Card Game injects fun and fantasy into learning!
In Elementeo, elements have their own personality and fight with each other using their properties and oxidation states – Oxygen Life Giver rusts metals and Copper Cyclops shocks element cards around him. Throughout the game, players create compounds, combat with element reactions, and conquer their opponent with black holes and slippery bases!
| Location: Maker Shed Maker Shed |
Embroidering the New Century
The San Mateo Area Chapter of the Embroiderers' Guild of America promotes the art and craft of embroidery and fiber arts to anyone interested in stitching. A variety of traditional techniques are explored and creativity in using those techniques is encouraged. Come explore the techniques with us hands on and be part of the 1000 Hands Crazy Quilt. Make-it-Take-it projects will be also offered at the Maker Faire in easy, fun, colorful techniques suitable for age 6 to adult.
| Location: Expo Hall 246 |
Envirokids: Make a Difference!
Green arts and crafts by kids and for the earth!
The Earth Camp Collective is a nonprofit children's camp that teaches sustainabile living skills and offers fun ways to touch the earth, lightly and positively. We create seed balls, solar ovens, dream pillows with herbs, and more - all made by kids at Maker Faire!
| Location: Expo Hall 96 |
FIRST Tech Challenge -- Youth Robotics
Learn and watch Tetrix robots built by local youths. The robots will solve this year's FIRST Tech Challenge Game, called "FACE OFF!" Demo robots will be available for you to try!
| Location: Redwood 413 |
Hack Cool Things with Microcontrollers!
Anyone can learn how to make cool things with microcontrollers! Even if you've never sewn a button, you can actually make a fun, intriguing project 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. Ages 5 to 100. You can even learn to solder! Learn all this and more from expienced makers at the Hardware Hacking area in the Maker Shed.
| Location: Maker Shed Maker Shed |
Handmade Origami Photo Albums
Join Tami Jo in making incredible photo albums using an origami lotus fold. Each unique album unfolds accordion-style to display your favorite photos. These albums also make a fantastic gift for teachers or grandparents. If you know how to work with paper, scissors and glue, this project is for you! She will be doing demonstrations every 15 minutes.
| Location: Expo Hall 235 |
Howtoons! Live Cartoon Drawing
Howtoons! The possibilities are endless. Come meet the creators of the comic as they show off the latest Howtoons and the process behind them. Live drawing and audience participation.
Interactive Video Folk Art Booth
Folk Art meets Video, includes Viewing Stations & Production Studio. People are invited to be part of a video folk art production, getting to pick stories, create characters out of recycled materials, rehearsing and starring in videos. Costumes used will be recycled into DVD packaging everyone gets free movie.
| Location: Expo Hall 242 |
Japanese Storycard Theater
Experience short kamishibai dramas from the Storycard Theater series, winner of the 2004 Dr. Toy Award for Top 10 Creative Products and two 2008 Parents' Choice awards. Kamishibai (literally "paper theater") was a popular Japanese street-performance format in the days before TV. For kids of all ages.
| Location: Outside |
Kaleidoscopic Dreams
I make large and small kaleidoscopes. My favorites are the big ones about 4' in length. I am working on building one approximately 32' long and 8' tall. They are great fun for interaction and create great visuals. I love to share them with people.
| Location: West Gate B3 |
LEGOJeep
The LEGOJeep is a fun interactive art car, seen on the street and at the most playful parties & events for all to interact with. You never know what patterns, shapes, or sculptures will be on it and neither does he! So come play with the LEGOJeep and change your environment, rethink what is possible, and make something new.
| Location: Outside East Grass O |
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: Outside Grass North Midway |
MAKE Play Day
Michael Shiloh
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: Redwood 450 |
Maker Faire Information Booth
The place for information about Maker Faire
We also have an art project - a take off on the Pinwheels for Peace project, but we're asking participants to write on their pinwheel how they want to Remake America. The pinwheels will be displayed either on the fence surrounding our booth or placed in the grass. Should look awesome by Sunday afternoon!
There is a rest area and a wheelchair rental area. This is also be one of the sites for attendees to fill out their safety forms and receive their bracelets.
| Location: Outside Grass East Area of Grass O |
Man-made Lightning
This 5-foot-tall Tesla Coil generates dazzling, long, electrical arcs while also revealing basic Physics principles with the Jacob's Ladder, Faraday Cage, and grounding.
| Location: Meeting Pavilion 500 |
Marble Madness
Marble Madness is a giant vertical marble maze created by 26 8th grade students from Creative Arts Charter School in San Francisco. Each student crafted their own 1' x 1' mini marble maze and then we attached them to a wooden base and vertical structure so that each maze would feed into the next.
PetBots! - Make Your Own Artbots
Kids come create your own PetBOT with common recycled electronics and cool lasercut parts. Connect motors, lights and batteries, then test your creations in the isobotics proving grounds.
PetBots are assembled from a kit of parts comprising of a laser cut chassis and appendages that can be configured in multiple ways that allow many different robots to be made. Using zip ties to hold the parts together anyone is able to master the build and create an army of robotic pets that spin, draw jump and roam all at your command!
| Location: Expo Hall 92 |
PlaySoundGround
The PlaySoundGround is an adult-sized, kid-friendly musical playground that's also a musical instrument, and a musical instrument that is also a playground. Your movement is turned into sound using sensors mounted on the playground equipment that send data to a computer running real-time synthesis software.
| Location: West Gate Grass C |
Puppy Mover Monorail
The Puppy Mover Monorail is a whimsical work of kinetic art. What began as a joke evolved into a working five-car monorail train, over 10' long, serving some surprisingly well-behaved puppies!
| Location: Expo Hall 90 |
Robotic Warship Combat
Last year's popular Axis vs Allies naval combat returns to Maker Faire with even more exciting "Sink or Surrender" events in the outdoor warship combat arena. This year more battles will be scheduled, with something new added: special, hands-on combat events just for kids, featuring R/C boats that launch ping pong balls at targets.
In the adult events, watch 6-foot-long robotic warships duel to the death in a large, specially built pond. 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: Outside Battle Zone |
Robotics for Fun
Three projects are available to the public:
1. Wheel-of-Robots - Find your fortune on the Wheel-of-Robots.
2. Scorpion-bot - Catch and sting the animal with the Scorpion-bot.
3. Mouse-In-The-House - Find your way to the cheese while avoiding the cat and mouse trap.
| Location: Redwood 402 |
SCRAP
People can make found object sculptures out of materials from SCRAP and learn about ways to re-use discarded materials in art projects.
| Location: Expo Hall 268 |
Shadow Puppet Fantasy
The ancient art of Shadow Puppetry enchants young and old, whether puppeteer or observer. Experience this magical art form as you assemble a wildly expressive puppet from simple found and upcycled materials. Learn technical secrets that bring storytelling alive using your puppet, a light, and simple screens.
| Location: Meeting Pavilion 502 |
Swap-O-Rama-Rama
Get rid of your tired clothes. Swap it or refashion old into new! A Maker Faire ticket plus any size bag of unwanted (but clean) clothes admits you to this textile paradise.
| Location: Cypress |
The Exploratorium @ Maker Faire
Meet the makers from the Exploratorium! Scientists, artists, and tinkerers of every stripe will lead activities, share exhibits, and show their work. There are a great variety of things you can make and do. Activities will change throughout the day, so plan to make frequent stops at the booth.
| Location: Expo Hall 177 |
The Nueva School Interactive and Space Art program
The Nueva School will be displaying and demonstrating the interactive and space art projects that 7th and 8th graders made during the course of the year, including interactive candy dispensers, an interactive trashcan, robotic animals, mechanical pinball machines, spaceships, rockets, and space houses.
| Location: Expo Hall 106 |
The Sawdust Shop
The Sawdust Shop
The Sawdust Shop is showing a variety of woodworking projects and has a wooden project that kids can construct and take with them.
| Location: Show Barn 811 |
Tinker Your Way Out Of This!
Using common everyday items and salvaged bits, can you build something that will help you extract the loot from each of five successively more difficult traps? We provide the tools and materials, you provide the brains. See how quickly you can extricate your prize. Ages 5-10.
| Location: Expo Hall 100 |
Topobo
What is it like to sculpt with motion? Topobo is the world's first construction toy with kinetic memory, the ability to record and playback physical motion. Snap together Passive (static) and Active (motorized) pieces into a creation, and with a press of a button and a flick of your wrist, you can teach your creation how to dance or walk. The same way you can learn how buildings stand by stacking up blocks, you can discover how animals walk by playing with Topobo.
| Location: Expo Hall 133 |
Whirl-O-Rator
This is a human-powered merry-go-round that can accommodate
one to six people at a time. It uses the same principle that a spinning ice skater uses to accumulate energy from its riders to go faster/higher.
People love it. It was in continuous use at Burning Man 2008.
| Location: Midway M3 |
