Call For Maker for Maker Faire Rochester 2019

Student STEAM Fest 2018

• Robots and Drones
• Think, Design, Create (Manufacturing)
• Sustainability
• The Arts; Hands on Science (Applied Sciences)
• Culinary/Agriculture
• Coding and Things that Go Beep (Micro controllers, Mini Computers, and Coding)
• DIY (jewelry, home repair/construction, and more)

Our 5th Year in 2018!

As we move into our 5th year, we have some exciting news!  Stay tuned to our social media below for this exciting announcement tomorrow!

https://twitter.com/rochmakerfaire

2016 Call for Makers Open!

Calling all makers, crafters, tinkerers, and artists: the application for the third annual Rochester Mini Maker Faire is now open!

On November 19th  from 9am to 5pm at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center, join us as Rochester celebrates the act of Making with attractions, exhibits, talks, demonstrations, and performances showcasing the intersection of science, technology, arts, and crafts — many of them immersive and interactive.

Rochester Mini Maker Faire is calling for all makers to apply to exhibit what they love to do! Come out and show your creations to thousands of curious attendees and meet fellow makers. Our application is open; we encourage you to apply early: http://bit.ly/RochesterMiniMakerFaireApplication2016

What is a “maker”? Everyone is a maker. People who create, tinker, and craft. People who are artists, scientists, engineers, inventors, and students. Anyone who enjoys making things. And you’re all invited!

Rochester Mini Maker Faire attracts a broad array of people and exposes them to technology, art, and engineering. Dan Schneiderman, co-chair of Rochester Mini Maker Faire and NYS representative of the White House Nation of Makers Initiative, says,  “Maker Faire brings everyone together: from kids to grandparents, artists to engineers, professionals to hobbyists. Anyone with a passion for making.”

Rochester, with its history of creativity and invention, is an ideal place for a Maker Faire. Last year’s event showed a wonderful range of creativity:

• A bridge made of hundreds of balloons that all participants could contribute to
• CNC machines, 3D printers, and other leading edge inventions and technologies
• Movie costumes and props made by a 14 year old, and other young maker booths
• Hands-on robotics
• A Giant Seesaw that everyone played on
• Illuminated electric violins that created light shows as they were played
• Board and computer games created by Rochesterians
• Areas where attendees created their own cardboard structures, took electronics apart, and created new covers for old books
• Soldering workshop with an electronic badge that attendees were able to take home
• Student projects from local schools and colleges
• The crew behind the Making It Podcast talked to us about making

This year we anticipate an area for fire arts. Additionally, the “Dark Room” will be back with light-based art.

The Rochester Mini Maker Faire celebrated its first event in November of 2014 with over 90 maker exhibits from across Western New York and 1,500 visitors of all ages in attendance. In 2015, we had 115 maker exhibits and approximately 3,000 attendees. We anticipate even more growth this year, and space is limited, so we encourage you to apply early!

Acceptance Dates for Makers

• Early acceptance: Sunday, September 4
• Round 2 acceptance: Sunday, September 18
• Round 3 acceptance: Sunday, October 9
• Final acceptance: Sunday, October 23
• Late applications only accepted under special circumstances.

Ticket information
Tickets are not on sale yet. We’ll be announcing this soon on our website, Facebook and Twitter, so be sure to follow us!

Adventures in DC: Our Trip to the White House

In early June, I was invited to represent New York State Maker Movement at the White House for the National Week of Making. On the Thursday evening before the meeting at the White House, the small group of us (Pat Rapp, my wife, and myself) were all set at the airport waiting to board our flight when my wife noticed that our flight had been canceled. Seconds later, I rush up to the front desk, the official announcement goes out that all flights to the DC area have been canceled due to weather. The attendants said that the earliest flight out would leave at 5:30 on Friday morning, but there would still be a chance of delays. After talking it over, we decide to cancel all of our flights, pick up our luggage, hop in the car, and start driving to DC.  After all, it was only a 6.5 hour drive according to Google Maps and was still light out at 7:30 in the evening. The drive was fairly uneventful. We had already had dinner, and traffic was next to nothing due to the late hour. We ended up checking into our hotel at 2am. Thankfully, with 3 of us we were able to take shifts driving allowing me to catch some sleep before the big day.

Kicking off at the White House

Before heading to the White House, several maker representatives and I met up for coffee a few blocks from where we had to go through security. After the fact, it did hit us that we never said what we looked like before the meet up. However, we were lucky enough that one of the representatives wore his Maker Faire badge, which acted as a magnet for the rest of us. Upon entering the room in the the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House Grounds, we were greeted by Andrew Coy, the Senior Advisor for Making for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and then sorted by region. At the table where I was seated was Ryan Reedell from New Jersey, Simon Hamermesh from Delaware, Kristina A. Holzweiss, the founder & director of the SLIME Maker Expo, and a few members from various Federal agencies.

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