Creative Play Lab by SnackNotes
Maker Faire Bay Area 2026
September 25th-27th
SnackNotes presents “Creative Play Lab,” a space where kids (and grownups!) can build something and be creative.
Come draw with Meg-A-Sketch, our giant whiteboard Etch-A-Sketch contraption. Make some noise building a Balloon-a-soon horn. And get your hands on a table of maker projects built for curious kids and their grownups, the same ones I teach in my kids' maker classes.
We're bringing two new things this year: a family of squishy blob puppets we design and mold at home, and a set of drawing, animation, and creative apps I've been building so kids can make things and take them home. The last time we brought the puppets to a school maker faire, kids kept trying to hug them.
SnackNotes is a collection of projects I make with my kids. I'm Brian, a dad of two, maker, and toy inventor. Everything here started at our kitchen table, and then got shared so other families could make it too. Last year our booth delighted kids and grownups alike; this year we're bringing even more ways to make something together.
Brian Van Osdol
I'm Brian, a dad of two, maker, and toy inventor. SnackNotes is a collection of projects I make with my kids. It started with a doodle on a Post-it stuck to my daughter's snack box, which turned into a daily habit, which turned into a whole pile of projects we build together. I teach maker classes for elementary kids, and most of what I bring to Maker Faire is something my own kids helped design, build, break, and rebuild. The blob puppets we're bringing this year were designed by my 11-year-old for a local school maker faire. I want kids to walk away believing they're the kind of person who can figure things out and make something.
