Make Way for Austin Mini Maker Faire: Creativity Gone Wild

This guest blog post is by Lizzy Newsome.

Do you like shiny things? Does the smell of hot glue make your pulse race? Do you truly believe that 3D printing is the wave of the future?

Then it’s time to have a little conversation about Austin Mini Maker Faire! This one-day gathering at the Palmer Events Center on Sunday, May 5th, brings together the city’s most dedicated crafters and tinkerers, with exhibits covering the complete spectrum of handmade, from Arduino to Zoo (Robot Petting Zoo, that is).

Also featured: Tinkering Workshop, 3D printers, an inflatable planetarium, and a special exhibit from the Austin Bike Zoo (two zoos!).

Believe it or not, this is only the beginning. A full list of makers and performers can be found on the Austin Mini Maker Faire website. If you want to learn even more about the makers that make Maker Faire what it is, five Meet the Maker short films will be released in the weeks preceding the festival.

Why Mini Maker Faire Exists in Austin

Austin owes much of its Maker Faire good fortune to Kami Wilt, head maker and local tinkerer extraordinaire. Kami was entralled when the original Maker Faire landed in Austin back in 2007. But when the festival of DIY failed to return in 2009, she was bereft:

“I couldn’t wait for it to come back. I was on the lookout for it for years; I assumed it would be an annual event. I was so disappointed when year after year passed and I never saw anything about it here in Austin.”

Not to be defeated by her disappointment, Kami realized that if Maker Faire was going to come to Austin, someone had to help it along.

“I kept up with Make Magazine and the big Maker Faire in the Bay Area, and I started to notice Mini Maker Faires popping up all over the world. I hoped a Mini would pop up in Austin. One night, I was browsing around on the Maker Faire website and realized that you could apply to put on your own Maker Faire. I had an A-Ha moment and filled out the application immediately. Even though I had never put on an event before in my life, it just hit me that someone had to get the ball rolling, and that Austin was so full of Makers that an event to showcase them all just couldn’t go wrong.”

Fortunately, Kami had plenty of help setting up Austin’s own Mini Maker Faire. “Amazing people showed up at different junctures and masterminded different things that I had no idea how to do, like lay out electricity or website building.”

With the support of the Austin Maker community, Mini Maker Faire is well on its way to becoming an annual event. This is the highest concentration of creativity and inspiration to ever visit the Palmer Events Center, a celebration of the DIY spirit expressed through making, building, weaving, inventing, recycling and sharing.

With the Faire now in its second year, Austin is proving its love of all things handmade with an expanded Faire, featuring over 100 dedicated makers and creators. 2013 will be three times as big as last year’s Faire, and promises to be three times as much fun! Get your tickets now and mark your calendars. This much creativity only visits Austin once a year!

Kids at Austin Mini Maker Faire

Do you have a young human in your charge? Children seem to have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and new experiences, both of which Maker Faire supplies in large doses. Kids of all ages will be totally enthralled and inspired by the magic of Maker Faire, and their guardians are likely to learn by osmosis.

Reasons you do not want to miss this year’s Maker Faire:

• Robots, robots are cool.
• Your Instagram feed will thank you.
• Steampunk is a way of life. For some people.

The Bottom Line

When: Sunday, May 5, 2013: 10 AM-6 PM

Where: Palmer Events Center, 900 Barton Springs Road

Who: Take me with you!

See you at the Faire!

Lizzy Jane Newsome is easily excited by large public gatherings or animals on the Internet. When she isn’t busy in her chosen career, you can find her feeding ducks. For more excitement, check out BriteShiny.com.

 

Photos used with permission, courtesy of Austin Mini Maker Faire.