Thursday, May 15, 2014

Maker Faire 2014 of the San Francisco Bay Area A Sneak Peak at some Faire Favorites, New Exhibits, and some of the more Exciting Attractions

By Nolan Apostle
Contributing Editor
Event City Creative Magazine

Maker Faire 2014 

A Sneak Peak at some Faire Favorites


Maker Faire, the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth, has announced its maker selections for Maker Faire Bay Area 2014. Here's the short list from Event City voted by our staff as the "Event City Favorites". All of the maker selections for this year are pretty spectacular and we know will certainly excite and delight Faire goers in many ways. 
There will be more than 1,000 makers at the Faire and even more exciting new - more than 20% of them are first-time exhibitors. There are many fan favorite makers, attractions, and performers returning, including, one of the Event City Creative Magazine's favorites the life-size version of the Mousetrap Game which can be seen at the show during these times
We are extremely excited this year not just from a standpoint of another Maker Faire, but because it will be the biggest Maker Faire yet worldwide! You can find a list of all makers at the Maker Faire web site: http://makerfaire.com/meet-the-

Now here's your sneak peak at Maker Faire Bay Area 2014 - Links borrowed directly from Maker Faire website:

El Pulpo Mecanico


Swap-O-Rama-Rama: Swap-O-Rama-Rama is the world's largest clothing swap with a series of do-it-yourself textile/accessory workshops guided by local designers.

Candelaphytes: From renowned installation artist Michael Christian, the Candelaphytes are a sight to behold. These are three, 8-meter tall kinetic sculptures constructed of steel that sway and ungulate slowly, appearing to be dancing plants. Motor-driven and fully programmable, Candelaphytes brings together nature and mechanics harmoniously.

The Great Fredini's Coney Island Scan-A-Rama: The Scan-A-Rama is a 21st century 3D portrait studio offering full body 3D printable portraits.

Light Cloud: A sight to behold! The Light Cloud is made of 5,000 lbs of steel, glass, and technology, made luminescent and paintable with a digital brush. The Maker Faire crowds can control Light Cloud and color it in real time by using a mobile app!

ROBOTIS: DARWIN MINI Dancing Team: Robots that dance! See these mini robots in action, controlled with an Android OS, OpenCM 9.04 controller, XL-320 Smart Servo, Bluetooth connections, and compatibility with 3D-printing modifications.

Titanoboa: This work of art is an electromechanical reincarnation of the ancient 50-foot serpent rendered extinct by past climate change. Titanoboa is a project from Charlie Brinson, co-creator of the Mondo-Spider and 3E-ROI exponential evolution project from Vancouver, Canada.

The Turbinophone: The Turbinophone is a jet engine that has been transformed into an interactive musical instrument. Attendees will have the opportunity to make a General Electric J79 turbojet make music!

Links to some returning Maker Faire "Classic Makers":
  • Arc Attack: Creators of the original Singing Tesla Coils, the crew of ArcAttack will use their high tech wizardry to generate a truly 'electrifying' live music performance.
  • Coke Zero & Mentos Fountains from EepyBirds: A huge crowd-pleaser! Geysers of soda shoot over twenty feet into the air in this spectacular mint-powered version of the Bellagio Fountains.
  • Cyclecide -- The Heavy Pedal Bike Rodeo: Fun for folks of all ages, Cyclecide is a traveling, pedal-powered carnival put together by alter-bike mechanics, mariachi-punk musicians and cycle crazed clowns! Their carnival is an interactive work of art
  • Death-Defying Figure-Eight Pedal Car Racing: Homemade pedal cars will compete on an exciting -- and death defying! -- figure-eight track! Attendees can watch the racers go round the track, crash, and fix their cars.
  • Game of Drones: A drone flying competition featuring aerial combat, obstacle courses and other UAV games with divisions for tiny, palm-sized toys up to huge multi-rotor heavy-lifters.
  • Learn to Solder: Makers of all ages can come learn or build on their soldering skills!
  • Life Size Mousetrap: Fantastically handcrafted, this 16 piece, 50,000-lb. interactive kinetic sculpture is a giant Rube Goldberg-style contraption complete with a Vaudevillian style show!
  • Maker Camp: Focused on the youth of the maker movement, Maker Camp will have plenty of hands-on making projects for the youngest Faire visitors.
  • Power Racing Series: Souped-up toy cars from childhood, racing around the track and driven by grown-ups! The cars are a sight to see and the race so fun to watch.
  • Serpent Twins: The Serpent Twins are stunning mobile sculptures are rendered in metal and cast off materials using modern science and artistry.

If you plan on attending Maker Faire 2014 at the San Mateo Events Center here's some tips and valuable information to help you - "Maker Faire Article - Attending, Traveling to and around San Mateo" It lists traveling to, from and around the San Mateo area as well as alternative transportation to attend the Maker Faire. 

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