Hasta La Ideas

This past weekend was the occasion for MAKE Magazine’s annual celebration of DIY and maker culture, Maker Faire, at the New York Hall of Science. Billed as the “Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth,” the family-friendly venue hosted the two-day perennial geek-out for homebrewed or otherwise ad hoc art and design… and, thanks to MakerBot, increasingly for digital fabrication upstarts from near and far. As our friends at Maker Faire note on their Facebook page,

The World Maker Faire is over! Official numbers are in and the Faire was a resounding success—thanks to all of you! Over 650 Makers and 55,000 attended. We composted over 2000 pounds of food waste and recycled throughout the event (stats to follow). Mayor Bloomberg declared it “Maker Week” and The New York State Assembly Legislative Commission on Science and Technology issued a citation in support of World Maker Faire, praising the Faire’s mission of unlocking the potential of science and technology and putting it in the hands of anyone who has curiosity, creativity, and a desire to make something. I think we can safely say this was an incredible event! Thank you New York!!!

Indeed, the questionable weather didn’t seem to affect attendance figures as visitors braved the gray skies to engage the myriad makers, take in performances and presentations, and participate in the hands-on festivities. Considering the largely technical nature of the event, I was surprised to discover that the crowd (at my first Maker Faire) skewed young: grade schoolers interacted with grad schoolers as parents and peers indulged their companions; I couldn’t help but smile when I overheard a couple teenage tinkerers debating the merits of the Replicator 2 compared to its predecessor.

Since I hadn’t anticipated the scale of the event—the contained sprawl was difficult to navigate without a game plan—I found the breadth and depth of exhibitors paralyzing: I spent half a day wandering between the tents and booths only to realize that I completely missed the Molecule Synth (perhaps it was a good thing, then, that I had the chance to interview maker Travis Feldman before the Faire).

In fact, it almost seems unfair to compile highlights when I realistically only saw about 10% of the event—it’s best described as a canonical case of “you had to be there.” Still photos scarcely capture the spirit of the Faire: contrary to the ambivalent skies, the atmosphere was characterized by the focused creativity of play as an exploratory process that might eventually benefit society as work.

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