8 Things to Do at Maker Faire New York 2014

The 2014 New York Maker Faire, sponsored by Disney, is coming to New York September 20th and 21st. The i.materialise outreach team will be there, and we’ve compiled our top eight must-see parts of the Faire!

We also have free tickets to give away! To enter to win your free Maker Faire New York ticket, comment on this entry telling us what why you want a free ticket! This ticket has a value of over $40, and cannot be resold. [UPDATE: WE HAVE NO MORE FREE TICKETS LEFT! A VERY WARM THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO WROTE IN!]

The i.materialise outreach team will be there to greet all winners, and give you a free i.materialise goodie bag (while supplies last.) If you didn’t win, we still have some goodies for you.

Read on for details about the eight must-see exhibits of the world’s greatest “show and tell.”

Maker Faires attract designers and artists, not just engineers. Designers can network with well-known names such as Anouk Wipprecht, pictured here at the 2014 San Mateo Maker Faire.

What is the Maker Faire?

Established in 2006, Maker Faire is a family-friendly festival celebrating the Maker Movement and DIY (“Do It Yourself”) work ethic. It is an all-ages, “all-skill-levels” gathering of tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists, students, and commercial exhibitors.

Maker Faire New York is the perfect place to see 3D printing in action, connect with fellow makers, learn new skills, and inspire children to connect with STEM fields. This event also provides an inclusive, welcoming environment for artists and visual or tactile learners. Many children and adults connect with scientific and engineering disciplines after seeing “what they can do” in real life, and in an inclusive environment where questions and “talking back” are encouraged.

This positive attitude helped launch Maker Faire New York as one of the biggest Festivals of the year. Just last year, over 195,000 people attended two flagship Maker Faires in the Bay Area and New York. 61% of New York attendees were “first time” visitors, and over 50% of all attendees brought their children along. This unexpected success catapulted the event around the world, with new Maker Faires launching in in Tokyo, Rome, Santiago, and Oslo.

The 2014 New York Maker Faire will feature several hands-on exhibits, workshops, and talks. Here are some must-see speakers and events:

Must-See Events

Game of Drones Aerial Sports League

This crowd-pleaser features a drone flying competition full of aerial combat, obstacle courses and other UAV games. Divisions range from tiny palm-sized toys to huge multirotor heavy-lifters. Games include both combat and non-combat games. This is a great area to connect with fellow drone-builders, and to get tips on how to get started with building your very own drone.

Power Racing Series Race Track

Race your friends and family on the Power Racing Series Race Track! This is a must-visit hit every year, and provides fun for the both the young and young-at-heart.

The Life Size Mousetrap was funded on Kickstarter.

Life-Sized 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 show hosted by the one-and-only Mark Perez. No mice or humans are hurt during this safe, family-friendly show inspired by the classic boardgame.

Where and When:

Speakers:

Caleb Kraft

Community Editor at MAKE

Topic: What Does It Mean to ”Enable” Through Making? Families Dealing with Disability Can Tell You

Summary: Living with a disability can leave some people and their loved ones feeling both isolated and “helpless. In some cases, individuals with disabilities may feel depressed, ignored, or “not needed.” The Maker Movement and Open Source practices are revolutionizing this lives by allowing everyday people with “absolutely zero knowledge” to connect with a larger Maker Community, learn new skills, create things, and share them faster than ever thought possible. Join Kaleb for this inspirational talk about how individuals with disabilities (and their loved ones) are using the power of making and learning to change their lives, and their communities, for the better.

Where and When:

Local Motors Strati, the world’s first 3D printed car! Hear more about this at Maker Faire New York 2014.

Jay Rogers

CEO of Local Motors

Topic: Local Motors Strati: The 3D Printed Car

What if we could reimagine how vehicles are designed, built and sold? Take a dive into the world of Jay Rogers and Local Motors. Learn about The Strati, a 3D printer car cocreated and developed by the Maker community.
Where and When:

James Adams

Director of Hardware Engineering at Raspberry Pi

Topic:What’s Next at Raspberry Pi

Join James Adam in a conversation with Make: magazine’s Matt Richardson. Hear about development, applications and implications of the credit-card sized computer, “Raspberry Pi.” Older children and teens interested in learning programming might want to attend this talk.

Where and When:

Massimo Banzi

Co-Founder of the Arduino Project

Topic: The State of Arduino

Arduino is an inexpensive open-source microcontroller that hobbyists, students and professionals can use to create devices that interact with their environment. Common projects include robots, thermostats, motion detectors, and other projects that rely on sensors and actuators. Arduino comes with a simple IDE (i.e. “integrated development environment”) that runs on regular personal computers. Users can write programs for Arduino using C or C++.

Visit this talk to learn about the latest Arduino developments in from Massimo Banzi, co-founder of the Arduino Project.

Where and When:

Ayah Bdeir

CEO of littleBits

Topic: Democratizing the Internet of Things

littleBits has built “the most accessible and extensive library of modular electronics so that everyone from a professional designer to a grade school studentu can be creative with electronics.” Aya Bdeir, the CEO of littlebits, will be on-hand to present on this project, and on the ultimate goal of accessible electronics.

Visit this talk to learn how you and your children can get started with Arduino and other hands-on electronics.

Where and When:

And finally… this is not a speaker or an event, but a compelling, must-see documentary feature film about the Maker Movement that will be aired during the Faire:

Maker: A Documentary on the Maker Movement
Yu Hsiu, Yang
Come see “Maker,” the new feature-length documentary film that looks into the Maker Movement and its impact on society, culture and economy in the U.S. ”Maker” was successfully funded on Kickstarter back in Nov, 2013, and has inspired hearts and minds around the world.

Film makers, documentary buffs, and makers— this is your chance to connect with Muris, the innovative Taipei-based creative studio founded in San Francisco.

Viewers can also buy an HD copy of the film on the the documentary’s official website.

Where and When:

Which exhibits are you planning to visit at the New York Maker Faire?