Monthly Archives: April 2012

Click here for some early images from the Westport Mini Maker Faire on Saturday, April 28, 2012, courtesy of Marcia Logan with the Westport Library.

Here are some highlight photos from the slide show:

Working on a robot

Making Pottery

Conversation with a robot

If you have an Apple or Android mobile device, you can use the Westport Mini Maker Faire mobile app.  Scan the following QR code:

Westport Mini Maker Faire Mobile App QR Code

Alternatively, you can go to my.yapp.us/MAKER.

The app lists the schedule of events, Makers and their locations and a live Twitter feed.

Software for this app provided by
.

Everything is set for Connecticut’s first official Maker Faire event, the Westport Mini Maker Faire on Saturday, April 28.

By the numbers, there are close to 60 Makers participating from as far away as California.  13 organizations who either sponsored or produced the Faire.  The Makers will be in the big tent on Jesup Green, along the Saugatuck River and in the Westport Library.  There are more than 70 students participating from Westport, Bridgeport, Norwalk, Wilton, Weston and elsewhere in Connecticut.  The Organizing Committee alone consists of nearly 50 volunteers.

Some of the Makers include a person who builds wooden kayaks, a woman who makes fine pens on a lathe, five teams of people who build robots, a man who built a personal submarine, two people who build airplanes, four people who do 3D printing and much, much more.  There’s something for everyone at the Westport Mini Maker Faire!

Happiness is a Maker Faire T-Shirt

Oh and we have a limited supply of t-shirts for sale, made exclusively for the Westport Mini Maker Faire!  They’re available only at the CLASP Homes booth near the main entrance to the tent.

Everything is coming together for Saturday’s Westport Mini Maker Faire from 10 am – 4 pm at Westport Library and Jesup Green.

Below, Mark Mathias and Bill Derry, co-chairs of the event, review details in front of the 60′ x 120′ tent that will house the bulk of the outdoor Makers.  There will be more Makers along the Saugatuck River as well as in the Library.

Click here to register for FREE tickets to the Faire.

Click here to register for the “Battle of the Homemade Bands”.

Click here to register for the “Rube Goldberg Experiment”.

Click here to register to volunteer!

The events schedule for Connecticut’s first official Maker Faire event, this Saturday’s Westport Mini Maker Faire, has been announced:

Note:  Blue events are held outside in the Performance Area while Red events are in the McManus Room.

10:30 am

• Battle of the Homemade Bands
• Balam Soto – The Body Sound Suit is a bio-gesture capture and trigger system inspired by the arduino drum project.   The suit will be worn and the audience will view how human gestures and body movements are translated into data, and then into sound and images.

11:00 am

• Homemade Band Jam Session
• Miggs Burroughs -”Eyedeas and How to Get Them” – you will be part of a creative team to help graphic artist Miggs Burroughs develop a logo.

12:00 Noon - David Heim – See how to use Google SketchUp to create an accurate 3D model of a Fender Stratocaster, the classic solid-body electric guitar. Not only will you see how the model comes together, you will also learn the basics of SketchUp, a powerful and free 3D drawing program.

12:30 pm - Rube Goldberg Experiment, Group 1

1:00 pm - David Pogue – Westport resident, technology writer, technology columnist and commentator and personal technology columnist for the New York Times, an Emmy-winning tech correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning, weekly tech correspondent for CNBC, and a columnist for Scientific American.

2:00 pm

• Rube Goldberg Experiment, Group 2
• Jeff Del Pappa - How does a Maker TV show actually get made? The first US participant on the TV series Junkyard Wars, opens the curtain and talks about what goes on backstage.

3:00 pm - Dalton Ghetti – Dalton Ghetti will tell about himself and the history of his intricate amazing pencil carving art.

Along with the scheduled events listed above, expect a number of unscheduled events to keep the day interesting!

You can download the entire official Program Guide by clicking here.

Sign up for the “Battle of the Homemade Bands” by clicking here.

Sign up for the “Rube Goldberg Experiment” by clicking here.

Sign up to volunteer by clicking here.

We’ll see you at the Westport Mini Maker Faire on Saturday, April 28, 2012!

Yesterday, the Maker Faire tent was put up.  Today the official Westport Mini Maker Faire Program Guide is available for download.  Click here or on the image to download the Program Guide:

Many thanks to Alex Reardon, Jillian Greene, Bill Derry and Joan Hume for their efforts putting this together!

The tent for the Westport Mini Maker Faire went up on Tuesday on Jesup Green:

The tent for the Westport Mini Maker Faire went up on Tuesday!

If you haven’t yet, please click one of the links below to:

• Register for your FREE Westport Mini Maker Faire tickets;
• Register to participate in the Battle of the Homemade Bands; and/or
• Register to participate in the Rube Goldberg Experiment.

We’ll see you on Saturday, April 28 from 10 am – 4 pm!

We are pleased to make available updated Westport Mini Maker Faire posters that add a few new sponsors, including:

• Gault Stone
• ACE Crossroads Hardware
• Baker Graphics
• Localendar

Westport Mini Maker Faire Poster

Click the following links to download the new posters:

• WMMF Poster 8.5 x 11
• WMMF Poster 11×17

Here’s a great story about the Westport Mini Maker Faire that was in the Connecticut Post this week:

http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Westport-joins-the-Maker-movement-with-day-3492055.php

A similar story was also in The Hour:

http://www.thehour.com/story/523734/maker-faire-making-its-way-to-westport-on-april-28

To learn more about the Westport Mini Maker Faire — including a conversation with a robot who will be at the Faire – please view the video at:  http://bit.ly/I7h7Gu or click on the video below.

Thank you to the staff at the Westport Library for producing the video!