Wharton economist Jeremy Rifkin: "The maker movement is 'as significant as the shift from agriculture to the early industrial era.'"
Maker Faire: News from the MAKE Blog
Businessweek Predicts “Culture Clash” Between Open Source and VCs
Bloomsberg Businessweek has a piece on the maker movement, its drift into the mainstream, and its attracting of venture capital interest. The usual suspects are here: MAKE, Maker Faire, Adafruit, MakerBot, DIYDrones (3D Robotics), and some are quoted. The surprising twist is that, after extolling the virtues of open source and the maker community that’s spawned it, the piece suggests that real money can’t come to open source hardware businesses (that whole giving stuff away part), and that OSH will likely be a hard sell to investors. The first suggestion runs counter to the experience of the very companies it quotes and the only example it gives of an actual VC experience is the Foundry Group’s $10 million dollar investment in MakerBot. And they quote Bre Pettis of MakerBot saying that Foundry Group gets it.
I’m not surprised that the only negative comment in the piece is by a venture firm that specializes in manufacturing. I wouldn’t expect them to be in the vanguard of open source investment. Foundry Group’s past investments include Zynga, the social network game developer. That’s the sort of direction one would suspect open source venture money to be coming from.
All that said, it’s encouraging to see the mainstream news and business media catching up with the maker movement. And it’s great that the wider business world is starting to take this space seriously.
The piece even contains a whopper of a quote from the Wharton economist Jeremy Rifkin:
“The maker movement is ‘as significant as the shift from agriculture to the early industrial era.’”
Wow. Take that, shift from industrial era to information age! (And take note of that, venture capital firms.)
The DIY ‘Maker Movement’ Meets the VCs
Posted by Gareth Branwyn | Thursday February 16th, 2012 10:01 PM
Categories: Maker Faire, Maker Pro | Permalink | Email | Comments (8)
This Saturday, Feb 18: Young Makers/Open MAKE at the Exploratorium
© The Exploratorium
Come to the Exploratorium this weekend as the Tinkering Studio hosts the second of four Open MAKE Saturdays. Explore your own creativity with makers from around the Bay Area, who will share their art, ingenuity, and techniques for making.
The event runs from 10am to 2pm on the third Saturday of each month through April. For this month’s theme, Time, Dale Dougherty, founder and publisher of MAKE, will end the day with interviews with seven totally “timely” makers:
- David Forbes will talk about his passion for making clocks and watches with nixie tubes and oscilloscopes.
- Julie Chen describes working with handmade books and printing techniques as a “time-based medium.”
- Roger Wood, in addition to setting up a portable workshop in the Tinkering Studio, will talk about making clocks from recycled and found gadgets and mechanical wonders.
- The Exploratorium’s Nicole Catrett will talk about her homemade stroboscope, which has since become a permanent exhibit on the museum floor.
- Five Ton Crane (a.k.a. Alan Rorie, David Shulman, and Sean Orlando) will share their retro-futuristic large installation projects, such as their Raygun Gothic Rocket
The “Meet the Makers” interviews will be webcast live — click here to watch.
On the museum floor you can take a trip through time with diverse activities like stroboscope photography, Ken Murphy‘s A History of the Sky, a week-long Sumi Ink Club collective drawing, life-sized stop-motion animation, metaphorical clocks, and more. Stop by and say hello at MAKE magazine’s table dedicated to the beloved 555 timer!
Open MAKE is a collaboration between the Exploratorium, MAKE magazine, and Pixar Animation Studios. If you are a fan of Maker Faire, you won’t want to miss these tasty appetizers organized by our friends at the Exploratorium. The event is included in the price of the museum’s general admission and open to everyone.
This Saturday morning is also the second regional meeting of the Bay Area participants in the Young Makers program, where kids can work together to prepare a project to exhibit at this spring’s Maker Faire. Those who have registered for the Young Makers program should receive instructions for entry by email. Make sure you sign up with us if you are a Young Maker!
Posted by Michelle "Binka" Hlubinka | Wednesday February 15th, 2012 4:00 PM
Categories: Arts, Crafts, Education, Events, Kids, Maker Faire | Permalink | Email | Comments (0)
LED Scroller Counts Down to Maker Faire
As you may have noticed, the Call for Makers for Maker Faire Bay Area 2012 is now open, something we’re very excited about around these parts. Garrett Mace is also looking forward to Maker Faire, so he hooked up an old Betabrite scrolling LED sign to Seeeduino with his ChronoDot to display the amount of time until the gates swing open to the public. Of course, his code isn’t only for Maker Faire: you can use it to count down to anything you want with a scrolling LED sign like the Betabrite (which uses the same protocol as a lot of other scrolling LED signs). Nice work, Garrett! We’ll have to rig one up at MAKE headquarters! [via BuildLounge]
More:
- Maker Faire Bay Area 2012 Call For Makers
- LED Scrolling Sign Artwork
- How-To: PS/2/You LED Sign from MAKE Volume 27
Posted by Matt Richardson | Sunday February 12th, 2012 6:00 AM
Categories: Electronics, Maker Faire | Permalink | Email | Comments (2)
Making More Makers (and Why It Matters)
In the lead-up to tomorrow’s Dale Dougherty/MAKE segment on “The Next List” (Sunday, 2pm EST), CNN has posted an article by Dale entitled How to Make More ‘Makers’ – and Why It Matters.
Makers start with that simple idea to do something, which is why we call it DIY – for “do it yourself.” Soon, however, they find out that there are lots of people like you out there. When you find others, you have a community and that community offers a place to show your work, trade tools and swap ideas, and just have fun.
We can find all kinds of makers in our communities. Yet we also want to help create more makers. Through education and community outreach, we can offer the opportunity to make things to more people, but particularly children. They might find these opportunities at school but also at community centers, summer camps and science centers, or even at home. My goal is that all people, young and old, come to see themselves as makers, creators and doers because I know that the people who have the skills and knowledge to make things have the power to make the world a better place.
The article also includes another video excerpt from “The Next List” piece.
Please Note: After the show tomorrow, Dale Dougherty (@dalepd) will be hosting a Q&A on twitter (#make). We hope you’ll join us.
UPDATE: This episode of “The Next List” was preempted today due to breaking news. Barring breaking news next week, it will run Sunday the 19th.
How to Make More ‘Makers’ – and Why It Matters
More:
- White House Celebrates Young Makers Along with Science Fair Winners
- Dr. Sanjay Gupta Of CNN Visits MAKE
Posted by Gareth Branwyn | Saturday February 11th, 2012 1:00 PM
Categories: MAKE Magazine, Maker Faire, Makers | Permalink | Email | Comments (3)
Maker Faire Bay Area “Call for Makers”
CALL FOR MAKERS is now open for Maker Faire Bay Area!
February 9, 2012
Dear Friend of Maker Faire,
The “Call for Makers” is now open for Maker Faire Bay Area.
You have requested to be notified when we open our Call for Makers process and we would like to invite you to submit your application for the 7th Annual Maker Faire Bay Area.
If you are interested in applying for World Maker Faire New York we will notify you when we open the Call for Makers in May.
Calling All Makers!
Produced by the folks who bring you MAKE magazine, Maker Faire celebrates things people create themselves — from rockets and robots, to DIY science and technology, to sustainable foods and upcycled clothes.
Maker Faire invites Makers to submit projects for this years 7th annual festival. More than 700 Makers and Maker organizations will participate and showcase their projects. The festival is expected to draw over 100,000 attendees from across the state, the country, and around the world.
When:
Saturday, May 19th – 10AM – 8PM
Sunday, May 20th – 10AM – 6PM
Where:
San Mateo County Event Center
1346 Saratoga Drive
San Mateo, CA
Calling All Makers!
The first step to participating in Maker Faire is to submit an entry that tells us about you and your project.
Entries can be submitted from individuals as well as from groups such as hobbyist clubs, schools and organizations.
Please provide a short description of what you make and what you will actually bring to Maker Faire.
Plan to link to a photograph or video of what you make.
We particularly encourage exhibits that are interactive and that highlight the process of making things.
Here are just some suggested ideas for topics and areas that we’re looking for:
Student Projects — Robotics — Design — Space Projects — Music Performance and Participation — Personal Fabrication including — 3D Printers and CNC Mill — Textile Arts and Crafts — Hacker and Maker Space Projects — Hands-On Activities — Home Energy Monitoring — Rockets and RC Toys — Sustainability/Sustainable Living — Green Tech — Radios — Vintage Computers and Game Systems — Electronics — Electric Vehicles — Biology/Biotech and Chemistry Projects — Food and Beverage Makers — Puppets — Kites — Bicycles — Shelter (Tents, Domes, etc.) — Unusual Tools or Machines — How to Fix Things or Take them Apart (Vacuums, Clocks, Washing Machines, etc.) — Art Cars — Large Scale Art Projects and more…
Call for Makers Application and Information can be found at the following link:
http://makerfaire.com/bayarea/2012/callformakers/
Please enter early so we can reserve space for your exhibit.
Entry Close Date: March 20, 2011
Great Deal on MAKE for Bay Area Makers
If you are not already a subscriber to MAKE magazine, please continue to support the Maker movement and take advantage of the special Maker discount available to participating Makers – it is 50% off of the subscription price, so you can get a full year of MAKE magazine for only $17.50 (and, if you are a subscriber – use the code below to extend your subscription at this price).
Use code M9CMK when ordering to get your special discount at the following link: http://www.makezine.com/go/mf11sub
And don’t forget — follow @MakerFaire on twitter and visit Maker Faire on Facebook and become a fan!
We are really looking forward to Maker Faire this year and are excited to receive your application with more information about your project. If you have any questions, please email makers@makerfaire.com.
And, if there are others in your community that you believe should be participating, please feel free to share this information with them.
Thank you for your support and looking forward to seeing you at Maker Faire!
Best,
Sherry Huss
Maker In Chief
Maker Media
www.makerfaire.com
sherry@oreilly.com
Posted by sshuss | Friday February 10th, 2012 5:30 PM
Categories: Announcements, Events, Maker Faire | Permalink | Email | Comments (1)
“How Maker Faire Changed My Life”
Ben Hylak, one of the young scientists/inventors honored at the White House yesterday, wrote his touching and inspiring story for the CNN website. The story, and an accompany teaser video, are a preview to this weekend’s episode of “The Next List” on CNN. The program will contain a 30-minute profile of MAKE founder Dale Dougherty and cover MAKE, Maker Faire, and the maker movement. Tune in to CNN, Sunday, 2pm EST, February 12th.
How Maker Faire Changed My Life
More:
- White House Celebrates Young Makers Along with Science Fair Winners
- Maker Teen Inspired by Faire to Build Robot Minions
Posted by Gareth Branwyn | Wednesday February 8th, 2012 6:15 PM
Categories: Maker Faire, Makers, Robotics | Permalink | Email | Comments (1)
White House Celebrates Young Makers Along with Science Fair Winners
Today, President Obama and the White House are hosting science fair winners, which for the first time, include young makers: Ben Hylak of Chester, PA, and Joey Hudy of Phoenix, AZ. Both young boys were outstanding participants at Maker Faire this past year. I’m really proud to see each of them recognized for their achievements as makers.
From the White House press release:
“When students excel in math and science, they help America compete for the jobs and industries of the future,” said President Obama. “That’s why I’m proud to celebrate outstanding students at the White House Science Fair, and to announce new steps my Administration and its partners are taking to help more young people succeed in these critical subjects.”
The release includes the following about Joey Hudy with a nice mention of Maker Faire.
Student “Making” and Starting Small Business to Sell his Invention. Fourteen year old Joey Hudy from Phoenix, Arizona is already a Maker Faire veteran. He invented an Extreme Marshmallow Cannon and an LED Cube Microcontroller Shield, which he has exhibited at Maker Faires in New York, San Francisco, and Detroit. He received two “Editor’s Choice Awards” from Maker Faire, and has started a small business selling the microcontroller (Arduino) shield kits on several websites. As the World’s Largest Do-It-Yourself Festival, Maker Faire is the premier event for grassroots American innovation.
We have received enthusiastic emails and calls from Ben’s mom, Bridget, and Joey’s mom, Julie. They are excited to see their sons get this kind of opportunity.
You can find a livestream of the event at 11:30 am ET today.
Ben Hylak
Ben Hylak of Chester, PA is at the White House event today because he is also a Broadcomm Science Fair winner. However, Ben was at last year’s NYC Maker Faire with his telepresence robot, Maya.
Joey Hudy
Joey Hudy from Phoenix, AZ was at Maker Faire in the Bay Area, Detroit, and NYC as well as at the mini Maker Faire in his hometown.
Joey and Ben each have great stories to tell about what making means to them. Today, we’re particularly proud to have Joey and Ben as ambassadors representing the Maker movement at the White House.
Posted by Dale Dougherty | Tuesday February 7th, 2012 8:47 AM
Categories: Education, Kids, Maker Faire, Robotics | Permalink | Email | Comments (6)
Call For Makers: the Twin Cities’ Minne Maker Faire
This is the third installation of the Minne Maker Faire, sponsored by Twin Cities’ original hackerspace organization, Twin Cities Maker.
Our third annual Minne Maker Faire is on the calendar for Saturday April 14th. To reflect our explosive growth, this year’s fair will be bigger and better than ever. Old favorites are returning and new friends coming. Music, Food, Exhibits and Demonstrations.
12:00-5:00 PM: Open maker displays and demos.
7:00PM – ??: Music performances!
Are you a maker in or near the Twin Cities? Be sure to participate in this event! There are multiple spaces inside and outside the Hack Factory to display your project. Send an email to fair@tcmaker.org if you’d like to participate.
[photo by Pat Arneson]
Posted by John Baichtal | Tuesday February 7th, 2012 7:00 AM
Categories: Events, Hackerspaces, Maker Faire | Permalink | Email | Comments (0)
Seattle Mini Maker Faire Opens CfM!
OMG! Seattle, the city in which my apartment resides, is having its first-ever Mini Maker Faire, and I couldn’t be prouder. We’ve been working for long months in secret, planning with the city’s Science Faire Day, scheming layouts, and dreaming big. I’m so happy this has launched and now I can announce it to you all. We’ll be sharing our joy of making (and hopefully corrupting the children) June 2nd and 3rd at Seattle Center.
Let this be a gentle reminder to step away from the internet and go make something. Put on your safety glasses, warm up your glue guns or soldering irons, and tinker with stuff! Make something, even if the only thing you make is a mess. The things you learn making a mess today are the skills you leverage to make something amazing tomorrow. It’s the process that counts. - Christin
Call for Makers: Want to get involved? We’re looking for makers, volunteers, and sponsors.
Posted by Willow Brugh | Monday January 30th, 2012 11:30 AM
Categories: Events, Maker Faire | Permalink | Email | Comments (0)
This Saturday, Jan 21: Young Makers / Open MAKE at the Exploratorium
Marek Michalowski's interactive robotic toy, My Keepon™
Come to the Exploratorium this weekend as the Tinkering Studio hosts the first of four Open MAKE Saturdays. It runs from 10am to 2pm on the third Saturday of each month through April. Explore your own creativity with makers from around the Bay Area, who will share their art, ingenuity, and techniques for making. In addition, Dale Dougherty, founder and editor of MAKE, ends each session by interviewing featured makers in the McBean Theater.
This month’s theme, Toys, and will include interactions with five particularly playful makers:
- renowned Lego sculptor Nathan Sawaya
- I-Wei Huang and his steam-powered robots
- emiko oye and Shana Astrachan on making jewelry from toys
- Dr. Marek Michaloswki an autism researcher and designer of toys that star in viral YouTube videos
Accessorize with Toys
And it’s not an Open MAKE without some making! Dissect toys, build a kinetic contraption from copper wire or a scribbling machine, perfect a tricky top, or create beautiful art with a kaleidoscope. The museum will offer activities ongoing from 10am to 2pm on a first-come, first-served basis. Or come early to reserve a scheduled spot with emiko and Shana for their Accessorize with Toys workshop.
Open MAKE is a collaboration between the Exploratorium, MAKE magazine, and Pixar Animation Studios. If you are a fan of Maker Faire, you won’t want to miss these tasty appetizers organized by our friends at the Exploratorium. The event is included in the price of the museum’s general admission and open to everyone.
This Saturday morning is also the first regional meeting of the Bay Area participants in the Young Makers program, where kids can work together to prepare a project to exhibit at this spring’s Maker Faire. Those who have registered for the Young Makers program should receive instructions for entry by email. Make sure you sign up with us if you are a Young Maker!
By the way, if you are the teacher or a parent of kids between the ages of about 5 and 9, you may have noticed that while we welcome enthusiastic makers of any age, the Young Makers program is currently aimed at ages 12 and up. Well, there’s a new group forming to discuss how we can support the specific needs of the littlest makers, and it will meet during the regional meeting this Saturday.
Posted by Michelle "Binka" Hlubinka | Thursday January 19th, 2012 7:30 PM
Categories: Arts, Education, Events, Kids, Maker Faire | Permalink | Email | Comments (5)
Features
Businessweek Predicts “Culture Clash” Between Open Source and VCs
Posted by Gareth Branwyn | February 17, 2012
This Saturday, Feb 18: Young Makers/Open MAKE at the Exploratorium
Come to the Exploratorium this weekend as the Tinkering Studio hosts the second of four Open MAKE Saturdays. Explore your own creativity with makers from around the Bay Area, who will share their art, ingenuity, and techniques for making.
Posted by Michelle "Binka" Hlubinka | February 16, 2012
LED Scroller Counts Down to Maker Faire
As you may have noticed, the Call for Makers for Maker Faire Bay Area 2012 is now open, something we’re very excited about around these parts. Garrett Mace is also looking forward to Maker Faire, so he hooked up an old Betabrite scrolling LED sign to Seeeduino with his ChronoDot to display the amount of [...]
Posted by Matt Richardson | February 12, 2012
Maker Faire Bay Area Call for Makers
Can you believe it's that time of year again? Makers, it's time to get that application ready for the 2012 Bay Area Maker Faire! Get all the details over on Make....
Posted by Lish Dorset | February 12, 2012
Making More Makers (and Why It Matters)
In the lead-up to tomorrow's Dale Dougherty/MAKE segment on "The Next List" program (Sunday, 2pm EST), CNN has posted an article by Dale entitled How to Make More 'Makers' - and Why It Matters.
Posted by Gareth Branwyn | February 11, 2012
Maker Faire Bay Area “Call for Makers”
CALL FOR MAKERS is now open for Maker Faire Bay Area! February 9, 2012 Dear Friend of Maker Faire, The “Call for Makers” is now open for Maker Faire Bay Area. You have requested to be notified when we open our Call for Makers process and we would like to invite you to submit your [...]
Posted by sshuss | February 11, 2012
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How to Make a Maker Faire
Thinking about producing a Maker Faire in your community? Read up on the basics at Make a Maker Faire.
Upcoming Faires
Cedar Rapids Mini Maker Faire
February 25, 2012
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March 31, 2012
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April 7 & 8, 2012
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April 14, 2012
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April 28, 2012
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October 23rd, 2011
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October 15th, 2011
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October 16th, 2011
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October 1st & 2nd, 2011
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September 17th & 18th, 2011
Indy Mini Maker Faire (Fishers, Indiana)
September 17th & 18th, 2011
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September 10th, 2011
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September 10th, 2011
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September 3rd, 2011
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August 19th — 21st, 2011
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June 18th, 2011
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June 5th, 2011
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June 4th, 2011
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May 21st & 22nd, 2011
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May 7th & 8th, 2011
Mid-Atlantic Mini Maker Faire (Linthicum, MD)
April 30th, 2011
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April 16th, 2011
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