Maker Faire Excitement.

Thanks to the wonderful folks at GE, I got complimentary passes to the Maker Faire Bay Area. I took AB and my sister. It was fantastic. We were able to see all sorts of things. Some of the highlights included:

• A great talk by Kipp Bradford, an engineering professor and   online tech editor at Make magazine, titled, "Where Are All The Black Makers?"
• The Bazaar Bizarre filled with tons of crafty goodness
• Holistic Hula Hooping, which is an great concept because after you hula hoop, you can help but be happy and have a bit of a brighter view of life
• Extremely tasty food (I had quite the love affair with my cheeseburger)
• The Pedal for Power Music Stage powered by volunteer pedalers
• A Trojan Horse built out of cardboard by PenfoldPlant

The best part about it was the welcoming and jovial atmosphere. Even if you are not an engineer-y, tech-y, STEM oriented type of person you couldn't help but marvel at the things that people had created. The kicker was that those people wanted to explain their creations to you in the kindest, least pretentious, most educational, inspiring way. The crafters wanted to explain their process to you, why they use the materials they use, and what inspired their pieces. It was truly a makers' fair. You walked away from it thinking, "Wow, people are really doing some amazing stuff in the world."

AB's excitement about everything made me excited for everything that she has the ability to do and learn. (It definitely made me certain that enrolling her in a robotics camp this summer was a good idea.) She likes to make things and she loves her HexBugs. Make even sells a kit for making a DIY version called BrushBots from a toothbrush, pager motor, and coin cell battery.

Kipp's talk about the seeming absence of "Black Makers" was really interesting. Not every awesome thing that happens in this world needs to be tied to race. Audience members commented that Black Makers are everywhere, but a lot of them don't want to be known for being a Black Maker, they want to be known for whatever product or device they are making or the creative solution they are providing. However, I think that he was making a valid point that it is important for young minority kids to see themselves reflected in their role models. Therefore, it is important to see prominent minority Makers, whether they be engineers, scientists, programmers, mathematicians or crafters.

Overall, Makeput on a beautiful event. Who knows, next year I may be tagging along with AB as a Young Maker extraordinaire.