Maker Faire: Pancake Printers, an Electric Giraffe and So Much More
When Sherry Huss was a kid in Ohio, she loved going to county fairs. She grew up to co-found Maker Faire — an event she describes as a new kind of public event, one whose exhibits go beyond the typical 4-H project. When Huss helped start Maker Faire in the San Francisco Bay Area a decade ago, she wanted to bring Make: magazine to life and feature the makers it covered. (She defines a “maker” as anyone who has a passion for what they do and is willing to share it.) “We wanted it to be like a traditional county fair, where the community comes together and people showcase what they do,” she says. But in this case, people are showing off things like a backyard roller coaster, a giant kinetic ant sculpture, a life-size robot that can be created with a 3-D printer, electric pop-up books and a fire-breathing rhinoceros art car.
Perhaps Maker Faire’s tagline says it best, calling the event the “greatest show (and tell) on Earth.” Before the doors open this weekend (May 16, 2015), we provide a preview of some of the most interesting exhibitors.
Engineered furniture. Robby Cuthbert Design creates furniture that’s more engineered than made, as every piece is held together completely by steel cables under tension. In this table, for instance, opposing forces are balanced to achieve stability.
Pancake printer. Maker Miguel Valenzuela developed his first PancakeBot out of Legos to entertain (and feed) his daughters, Lily and Maia. The current version allows users to turn their images and drawings into digital files that can be read by PancakeBot and printed in batter on a griddle. The results are finely detailed, edible flapjack creations.
Tape art. This lush and lovely landscape arose from a humble material: masking tape. Artist Danny Scheible created the sticky art form Tapigami while still in college and discovered that — armed with tape, scissors and imagination — he could make art anywhere. His motto is “Touch the art.”
The Electric Giraffe. Lindsay Lawlor and Russell Pinnington created a robot with the visage and body of a giraffe for a Burning Man project. The machine, nicknamed the Rave Raffe, walks, talks and (when its neck is raised) towers over the crowd with its head 17 feet above the ground.
The techno beast got the presidential nod last year when, after returning from Maker Faire, Lawlor received an email inviting him to the White House for a mini exhibition. Here the giraffe is walking on the White House lawn. President Barack Obama reportedly petted the robotic giraffe, and you can too at Maker Faire.
Solar system. Another Maker Faire entry with Burning Man roots is Celestial Mechanica, a kinetic sculpture that replicates the solar system with eight planets orbiting a fiery sun. The 16-foot-tall sculpture with more than 80 custom-made gears can only be described as out of this world.
Light play. This art installation is a small army of 84 mini robots that react to computer signals. Made from a fluorescent material, they turn green in UV light, giving the appearance of a field of mechanical grass.
DIY dome. Toby Vann and Michael Gates of Archimedes Design have developed shelters based on Buckminster Fuller concepts. (Fuller is the father of the geodesic dome.) At this year’s Maker Faire, they will be teaching visitors how to build their dome structures out of parts that can be purchased at the hardware store.
Info: Maker Faire Bay Area 2015 happens at the San Mateo County Event Center on May 16-17.
Other design events coming up in the next two months:
Kips Bay Decorator Show House, where designers transform rooms in the Arthur Sachs Mansion to benefit the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club; through June 11, New York City.
ICFF, where designers and makers from around the globe display modern furniture, accessories and materials; open to the public May 19, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York City.
Dwell on Design LA, a three-day modern home show; May 29-31, Los Angeles Convention Center.
San Francisco Design Week Hub, a co-production of WestEdge SF and San Francisco Design Week, will showcase all things design along the city’s waterfront; June 4-5, Pier 27.
