makerfaire.com: Maker Faire Bay Area 2009: Items by Topic

Maker Faire Bay Area 2009
Projects and Makers By Topic

Science

1 to 54 of 54

A Schmahl Science Workshop
Free Schmahl Science hands-on workshops amaze and inspire youngsters to love and get involved in science. Both the Schmahl Science BioMobileLab and SciVan will be on hand to host hundreds of future scientists.

Location: Expo Hall 101 & 102

Adventure Zoology
Using simple materials and a limited budget, I travel the world and explore the nooks and crannies where small creatures live. My project shows how a sense of wonder and curiosity can bring out the amazing strangeness and beauty of all that is around us. I have pictures, devices, homemade entomological tools, and various other implements.

Location: Expo Hall 91

AeroPac High Power Rocketry
We are the association of experimental rocketry of the Pacific. We have many large rockets on display as well as video and printed material. We have a hands on visible rocket and rocket motor as well as having "dummy" propellant grains. We have various construction components as well as rockets in various stages of development. Demos of rocket design software as well as doing static burns of some high power rocket motors out in the parking lot while working hand-in-hand with the LUNAR group and its model rocket launches.

Location: Fiesta Hall Rocket Room

Aluminium Can Van de Graaff Generator
Learn how to generate static electric charge by building a Van de Graaff generator you can build with just a few simple parts.

Location: Meeting Pavilion 516

Chabot Telescope Makers' Workshop
The Chabot Telescope Makers' Workshop meets weekly for the purpose of teaching optics, optical polishing, telescope making, and general craftsmanship. Come see what we do -- we'll be demonstrating telescope mirror making and mirror testing -- and learn about the Chabot Space and Science Center.

Location: Expo Hall 286

Colossal Failures
I'll be talking about failure - unmitigated, colossal failures that I've been a party to.

Creating Killer Innovations
Innovation is a key catalyst for economic recovery, yet some find it elusive. As Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for HP�s Personal Systems Group, Phil McKinney sees daily examples of the breadth of human ingenuity to solve social, economic, political and even technical challenges. McKinney is passionate about tapping that human ingenuity to deliver great results and is regularly sought out to guide teams to unleash their own creative potential. In this presentation, McKinney will share the �how� of unleashing your own personal creativity. One example that he will share is the turning points in his own R&D team�s journey to identify and create a whole new way for computers to interact with the world�s population -- ways that involve natural human expression with nary a keyboard or mouse in sight. Attendees leaving his presentation will discover a renewed level of confidence in their own ability to create the next killer innovation while organizations will have the confidence that they can compete and win in the emerging creative economy.

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

DNA Spirit
This exhibit will demonstrate a variety of ways to use hands-on model building to understand and appreciate the beauty of the DNA double helix structure, which encodes the complete genetic makeup of an individual. All models can be built in a short period of time using LEGO, knitting tools and cardboard.

Location: Expo Hall 108

e pur se muove (and yet it moves)
We have sumo robots that wrestle, taildraggers work their way through a maze, and trebuchets launch a bean at a target. Our interest is to have youth experience making two motors work together to accomplish a goal and talk about the physics of what makes a trebuchet work.

Location: Expo Hall 207

e pur se muove (and yet it moves) Pacifica Computer Pros
We make kinetic art pieces. Reusing computer parts along with wire and various motors create constructions that evoke impressions of flowers, butterflies, or random mechanical art pieces. Working with kids we have simulated constructions of amusement parks, Calder style figures and mobiles, trebuchets and catapults, clay and mechanical animation to name a few.

Location: Expo Hall 146

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

Ethel The Robot...
Ethel is a large 200 lb+ 4WD robot. Ethel is built to demonstrate that it is possible to build simple robotic machine using off-the-shelf components. Ethel has a 1Ghz computer for her vision a basic stamp to control various functions and sensors. Ethel has a 250 watt stereo, wifi, 75 mhz radio control, wireless 2.4 ghz keyboard and mouse and a wireless joystick. Ethel also uses telepresence with wireless cameras and microphones. Ethel also can provide a light show using a propane poofer system.

Location: West Lot WL12

GalaxyGoo's Cell Project
In the Clay Cell activity, participants build 3-d models of cells, organelle by organelle. Once the clay dries, the cells are sliced and the resulting cross-sections are examined. It's a great hands-on activity for the whole family.

Location: Expo Hall 93

Hackerbot Labs' Incredible Quarter Shrinker
A huge capacitor discharges 15,000 joules into a small coil, making quarters shrink to the size of dimes.

Location: West Lot WL22

Hands-on Learning with RAFT Resource Area For Teaching (RAFT)
Each year, 600,000 Bay Area students use RAFT hands-on Activity Kits to learn about Science, Math, Art, and more. RAFT kits "creatively re-purpose" everyday items.

Location: Expo Hall 97

High Speed Photography
We will be answering questions and talking about the high-speed photography kit in the Makershed.

Home Chip Lab
Many have considered making transistors or solar cells at home either too complicated or expensive, but this didn't stop Jeri Ellsworth. She spent 3 years researching and working with mentors who pioneered silicon process in the 70's and devised a way that anyone can do this with safe over the counter chemicals and an inexpensive table top pottery kiln.

Location: Expo Hall 109

How Fast Does Time Fly?
Time sure flies when we�re having fun. Time sure drags when we�re bored. But by just how much? Without consulting your own timepiece, can you tell which of our cuckoo clocks runs at the �right� rate? Which one seems right when you�re having fun? Which one seems right when you�re bored?

Location: Expo Hall 123

How To Make Compressed Air Rockets
Blow your friends away as you send this 25-cent rocket hundreds of feet in the air. You can build this easy launcher and rocket with common items in an afternoon. As seen in MAKE, Volume 15!

Location: West Lot WL23

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.

Insect Exploration Arlo Pelegrin
Adventure-style entomology on three continents. Science, daring and penury come together as explorer Arlo Pelegrin takes his nets and buckets into forests, jungles, and deserts, travelling on slim budgets and finding friends in unlikely places.

ISKME's Sun Curve Design Challenge
Innovative green design meets K-12 learning: Paul Giacomantonio's Sun Curve is a sculptural experimental laboratory, combining hydroponic agriculture, aquaculture, and solar energy in a self-contained system. ISKME, OERCommons' creator, is launching an open-source curriculum challenge to recast teachers and students as makers and inventors.

Location: Fiesta Hall Foyer East

Jack SparX Electrical Toys
Let me reach out and touch you with half a million volts! We'll share a shocking but safe experience. My Van de Graaff generator will make your hair stand on end. We can play with Tesla coils, light bulbs with no wires, see arcs and sparks as the air is turned to purple plasma! High voltage is fun to play with, and that's just what we do, but very safely. We have approachable Tesla coils, Jacob's ladders and some of the components it takes to build your own. This is our fourth year of bringing high voltage toys for us to enjoy at the 2009 San Mateo Maker Faire.

Location: Redwood 408

Kit Maker Panel: Maker-Made, Community-Sourced
While most retail sectors have been in a nose dive, the burgeoning DIY marketplace has actually been growing. If you've ever contemplated turning your passion for making into a business, here's your chance to see what's hot and why, and where the new opportunities are. We've assembled an who's who lineup of indie kit makers, including Phil Torrone (adafruit), Ariel Churi (Sparkle Labs), Mitch Altman (Cornfield Electronics), Ken Murphy (Blinky Bugs), Anshul Samar (Elementeo), Dale Wheat (tiny Cylon), and Shawn Wallace (AS220).

Leaders Make the Future
Author of a new book, Leaders Make The Future, inspired in part by the Maker movement, Bob draws on the Institute of the Future's latest forecast to introduce skills that will help leaders see connections in the larger systems of which they are a part, embrace shared assets and opportunities, and cut through the chaos to make a better future.

Location: Fiesta Hall Next to Main stage

Learningtech Summer Technology Workshops
Workshops include Classroom Technology Officers (CTO), Build a Computer, Program a Robot and Make a Music Video.

Location: Expo Hall 122

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

Lightning Laboratory Prototype
An experimental twin-tower system that generates large-scale artificial lightning.

Location: Expo Hall 119

LUNAR Rocket Club
Build and fly a real model rocket with the LUNAR Rocket Club! Visit our booth and see small, medium, and large model rockets. Talk with expert rocketeers about how easy and fun model rocketry is. Find out how model rocketry gives you a wonderful, rich experience in broad areas for everyone from ages 4 to 104. The sky is the limit!

Location: West Lot WL21

Make It Green
We're turning great ideas that improve lives and help our planet into actual products. Submit an idea of your own and vote for your favorites at http://makeitgreen.yahoo.com At Maker Faire, we're showcasing 'Make It Green' with some of our favorite innovations to inspire makers to create and share their own. Come see the Garduino, a "plantsitter", that gives plants water and light when needed and alerts you if the temperature drops too low; the Solar Cooker, a solar-powered cooker saves energy, trees, the atmosphere, and even lives- And much more. Check it out.

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

Making Equipment for the High School Physics Lab Zeke Kossover
You can't buy a bed of nails or a Ping Pong ball gun from an equipment supply house. Learn how to make some cool science toys and how to take online instructions and make them into equipment you will use.

Location: Expo Hall 91

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

Mendocino Solar Motor
This solar motor has a magnetic levitation system for ultra-low friction, and is easily driven by ambient room light. The solar cells provide both the power and the commutator function.

Location: Expo Hall 115

More Hidden Messages
My Covert Public Message display from last year's Maker Faire is back and has a new kind of hidden message display: This year's project uses a series of LEDs to display two alternating messages, one in visible light and the other in invisible infrared light. The infrared LEDs are visible by looking at them through a digital camera (still, cell phone camera, video camera, etc). The LEDs display the messages via Persistence of Vision. The LEDs are mounted to the spokes of a bicycle wheel, spun by a fan motor (with speed control). The display is synchronized to center the messages and has Plexiglas covers to protect the viewer from moving parts.

Location: Meeting Pavilion 515

Not To Kill A Thought
The impact of language on curiosity, creativity and scientific inquiry. This talk explores how easy it is, even with the best of intentions, to stifle creative thought and true learning when it comes to working with children in the areas of science, math and engineering. We will investigate examples of simple but powerful changes in language, with the intention of provoking the best of creative potential and shared inquiry.

Omega Recoil
Omega Recoil is bringing a Jacob's ladder this year.

Open Air Vortex Generator
This project creates and demonstrates a naturally-generated vortex structure using stage fog as a tracer element to show the several forms and behaviors natural vortecies generated in OPEN AIR can be encouraged to manifest. It is created without fans or pumps, with just one moving part.

Location: Expo Hall 112

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: Expo Hall 149

Relativity Visualized: An Intuitive Way of Picturing Relativity
Have you ever tried to understand Special Relativity, but not quite grasped it? Have you wondered why you can't go faster than light? What makes time go slow? What makes space shrink? Lewis Carroll Epstein tells some stories that help make sense of puzzling concepts of Relativity.

Search and Rescue Robot Bill Nye
Robots are often used to search for and rescue people trapped after a disaster. This projects presents a Flash animation of a robot that must be controlled by an external operator (the spectator), that views on a projected screen the feed from an imaginary camera above the search robot.

Location: Expo Hall 299

SETI@home
Are We Alone? Chief SETI@home scientist Dan Werthimer will discuss the possibility of life in the universe, and how you can create the possibility of your computer detecting the first signal from a civilization beyond Earth.

Smokin' With Bill Gurstelle William Gurstelle
MAKE contributor and Backyard Ballistics author William Gurstelle is doing three things at Maker Faire this year: 1. Demonstrating the Fire Piston kit, 2. Reading and doing demonstrations from his new book, Absinthe and Flamethrowers, and 3. Making smoke candy. Smoke candy makes a lot of smoke when set off!

Location: Maker Shed Maker Shed

Solarbotics at the Maker Shed
Our fascinatingly talented crew will demonstrate a variety of robots, both solar and battery powered, in an interactive and hands-on display. We invite ALL people to join us and catch our enthusiasm for electronics and do-it-yourself fun.

Location: Maker Shed Maker Shed

SparkFun Electronics - PTH Soldering Workshop
This 10-30 minute workshop will give you the necessary tips, techniques, and confidence to solder through-hole components. You will get to choose between 3 kits: Metro-Gnome, Terror-min, or ClockIt. This workshop is great for beginners who want to get some hands-on experience in assembling embedded electronics. SparkFun is asking for a $5-7 donation for the workshop, which will benefit two Bay Area non-profits (San Francisco Robotics Society of America and The Exploratorium).

SparkFun Electronics - SMD Soldering Workshop
SMD Soldering Workshop: This 2 1/2 hour intensive workshop will give you the necessary tips, techniques, and confidence to solder SMD (Surface Mount Devices). SparkFun instructors will guide you through assembling a Simon Kit, which will be yours to keep and brag about to all your friends. This workshop is great for beginners and experts alike, but confidence in PTH soldering is recommended. SparkFun is asking for a $20 donation, which will benefit two Bay Area non-profits (San Francisco Robotics Society of America and The Exploratorium). Sign up sheets are available at the SparkFun booth for the three classes on Saturday (10:30, 2:00, and 5:30) and two classes on Sunday (10:30 and 2:00).

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: Show Barn 813

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 Paper Airplane Guy
A collection of crazy airplanes. Demonstration and instruction for the fine art of paper airplane making.

Location: Expo Hall 164

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: Expo Hall 149

What's a nice lady like you doing in (a) space like this?
Esther Dyson tells tales of her cosmonaut training. Recently returned from five months at the Yuri Gagarain Cosmonaut Training Center outside Moscow, she comes equipped with photos and stories - and a willingness to answer questions!

Wikimedia Foundation
This year, the Wikimedia Foundation is showing off all of our projects, and attempting to highlight as many of their features as possible. Everyone has heard of Wikipedia, the world's largest free encyclopedia, but did you know that anyone can edit it? In fact, we encourage everyone to give editing a try! Our volunteers will be there to help you along as you make your edits, should you wish to try it out. Additionally, we'll be showing off such projects as: Wikimedia Commons - a repository of over 4 million completely free images; Wikinews - the free news source you can write; Wikibooks - a free library of educational textbooks; and Wikiversity - the project dedicated to learning resources at every level of education. Never heard of some of these? All the more reason to come visit and learn more!