Maker Faire

Come and see the makers of these kits (and many more) in the Maker Store. In addition to all the cool kits and products listed below, we'll also have Arduinos, MiniPOVs, MintyBoosts, Sushi Wallets, the Micro-Readerboard Kit, Peggy, MidiTron, Needle Felting, XGameStation Pico Edition, the Hydra Game Console, "Spaced Out" Embroidery, Herbie the Mousebot, and more. Come see them all!

And be sure to check out the schedules for the MAKE Workshop Stage, the Craft Workshop Stage, and the Maker Shed Workshop to see these kit makers and many other makers give presentations and get hands-on with people who want to build kits.

Small Form Factor PCs Duane Wessels, Matthew Weaver
Make Projects: Small Form Factor PCs is the only book available that shows you how to build small-form-factor PCs -- from kits and from scratch -- that are more interesting and more personalized than what a full-sized PC can give you. The authors will be on hand to demonstrate a few of the projects from their book, including the Gumstix-based Bluetooth LED sign, the Meshcube Wi-Fi extender, the OpenBlockS firewall, and the Zipit messenger turned into an SSH client.

Mod Your Maker's Notebook Gareth Branwyn
A work area in the Maker's Shed, called the Maker's Notebook Mod Station, where folks who just bought the Notebook can "improve" it. Becky Stern and I will be doing ongoing demos showing how to add pockets, closures, marker ribbons, and various cool notebook tricks and hacks.

High Speed Flash Photography Kit Tom Anderson, Wendell Anderson
As seen in MAKE Vol 4. Take "impossible" pictures, leaving everyone wondering "How did you do that?" Capture high-speed events -- A splash. Popping balloons. Breaking glass. Use your imagination!

Blubber Bot Robotic Inflatable Blimps Jed Berk
Come by the Maker Shed and check out the Blimp Kits that you can build yourself!

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

Eccentric Genius Kaden Harris
Kaden Harris is the author of Eccentric Cubicle, and the brains behind Eccentricgenius.ca. He'll be in the Maker Shed store showing The Silicon Projectile Centrifuge and other exotica from the halls of beautiful Eccentric Manors.

Finger Puppets Who Wish To Not Die Stacey Gordon
Watch finger puppet-maker Stacey Gordon turn recycled felt into small, anthropomorphic foods and the animals who love to eat them. Stacey will be spending time in the Maker Shed and will also appear on the Craft Demo stage.

Woolpets: Needle Felting Kits Laurie Sharp
Woolpets Needle Felting Kits are an easy and fun way to learn needle felting. The kits contain everything you will need to make a critter or two; wool roving, felting needles, and most importantly, detailed photo instructions for each step. Woolpets will be demonstrating needle felting at the Maker Shed.

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.

Critter and Guitari Christopher Kucinski, Owen Osborn
Critter and Guitari will be demoing their kits: The Cellular Automata Video Synthesizer is a good introduction to basic video synthesis and pattern generation. It turns any ordinary TV into a color demonstration of 1 dimensional elementary cellular automata. The Pocket Piano Arduino Shield is a brand new kit that turns the Arduino board into a portable electronic keyboard synthesizer. Different synthesizer patches can be created with the Arduino software and downloaded over USB.

Make Controller Kit MakingThings
The Make Controller is a easy to use, general purpose and open source controller that can be used to create new, fun interactive projects that incorporate physical and electronic devices.

Loud Objects Katie Shima, Kunal Gupta, Tristan Perich
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.)

World's Largest Solderless Clock Karl Papadantonakis
The electronics in this 4-foot wide clock cost less than the lumber! Based on a popular kit, it has 192 LEDs, all powered by a single driver. Not one single LED or wire requires soldering; everything can be twisted with a pair of pliers. Karl will also appear on the Make Demo stage.

Magnet Sculpture Kit Carl Morris
Experience the magic of rare earth magnets firsthand with this fun sculpture building kit.

ProdMod LED Camera Light Kit & LED Hula Hoop Kit 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. Michael will also appear on the Make Demo stage.

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.

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.

Blinkybug Workshop Ken Murphy
Learn how to make these interesting insects with LEDs, batteries, and pipecleaners. Ken will also be appearing on the Make Demo stage.

Hacking Cool Things with Microcontrollers Mitch Altman, Rolf van Widenfelt
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!

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