Thread: Maker Faire 2011 - SF Bay Area

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If you're in Northern California, check out the Maker Faire - great stuff to see for the DYI fan. There's usually some sort of Halloween-related booth. I've seen EFX-Tek there, these guys: http://sites.google.com/site/spookythings/, and last year there was a local haunt group with a nice display.

It's sponsored by MAKE Magazine, which is a ton of fun.

http://makerfaire-portal.eventbrite.com/

I suggest you buy your tickets ahead of time, the line when you get there can be really long. Also read up on their suggestions for parking and walking instead of parking right in the event center lot, it'll be easier.

I was watching cooking on my PBS station today and saw the Maker Faire commercial for this years event in San Mateo. It's on May 21 & May 22 at the San Mateo County Event Center. Here's the official link to the site: http://makerfaire.com/bayarea/2011/

We have yet to attend, and if we can, we'd like to make it this year. We're suppose to have rain this weekend so hopefully they'll get lucky with good weather next weekend.

Thanks for the links and tips JeffHaas.

BTW I see in the Featured Maker area, there is Botsmaker Bill Sherman. I'd be interested in seeing Slither, the robotic snake, and the LEDs in-a-jar that mimic real fireflies. Curious how he does his jar. I think I've seen video on YouTube in the past on Slither and he's very cool if it's the same thing. If his snake moves anything like this, I'll be impressed:

I found this website of Robots and PIC projects by Bill and Mark Sherman that has info on both his fireflies and slither. If you are interested: http://home.comcast.net/~botronics/robots.html

I also see from the Program schedule that on the Live Stage they will be showing a DIY Magic Mirror. I wonder what Buckethead: the Human Head in a Jar is about--sounds like a Halloween prop to me!

In the Craft area, Paper Alchemy: Turning Paper into Metal could end up being useful for Halloween maybe.

The Tesla Stage should be a cool view too. That's tesla like the erratic lightning effect, not the car company.

Found the EZ-Robot area where you can modify toys to do what you want them to (they'll be there at Noon on Sunday on the Live Stage): Hacking Toys for Robotic Control using EZ-Robot. Here's their website: http://www.ez-robot.com/



I also saw you can learn to solder cool neon wire (EL-wire) to make a take-home DIY battery powered glowing project for free. I know a few people here on the forum have worked with EL-wire before. Here's a link with a video showing how to solder the electroluminescent fiber: http://www.coolneon.com/ This site also has a photo illustrated tutorial for beginners on how solder your projects (Jeremy's Ultimate Guide to Soldering).

BTW I bought a few of these Can You Imagine Electroluminescence animated eyes for halloween a few years ago from QVC. They are really cool and the kids really liked them. Very visible from down the street. Watch the video if you have never seen what's possible with this EL stuff.



My hubby (who's not halloween inspired) will probably like checking out the Stanford Solar Car if we go.

And not that it would have anything to do with Halloween but I'd love to see the Lifesize Mousetrap (assuming this is a reference to the kind of display like the old board game "Mousetrap", which I loved playing as a kid). Just read the description and yes, it is the Rube Goldberg style contraption, all 50,000 lbs of it.


BTW, not in the SF Bay Area? Maker Faire does exhibit around the country so check out their website.

You absolutely want to see the giant Tesla coils in action. There's one hall that's the "dark" hall where everyone with lighting effects is, that's where they are. If it's the same group, they even hold up hot dogs on a stick so the lightning can run through them.

Just got back from going to Maker Faire Bay Area both days - and didn't see it all! Wow, what a lot of fun.

There were three Halloween exhibits:
- OHM My Gadgets new DMX controller (as mentioned on this board) with a talking pirate skeleton and chest that opened up. Very impressive. http://www.ohmmygadgets.com/medusadmx.html No video of the pirate yet, he says it's coming.
- NorCal Haunts local group with a "decrepit mansion" booth. Same as last year, with a ground breaker you could make move and blinking eyes peeking out of the background added. Pictures from last year: http://www.calhauntsnorcal.com/meetingdetail.php?mid=63
- DIY Magic Mirror http://diymagicmirror.com/kit.html He had this set up so you could switch the head, press a door bell and have the mirror alert you to guests, check your stocks, and other stuff. Fun!

But there was so much more! Here's a link to some cool pictures:
http://news.cnet.com/2300-17938_3-10...html?tag=mncol

AHhhhh, been so busy lately, completely forgot about this........ oh well, next year

Like to see more Halloween related artists & ideas at the Makers fair.

Thanks for the post and links JeffHaas. We had too much going on we had to do that we couldn't make it. DH said we'll plan to go next year. I'd love to hear more about what you found useful and any other links that might be fun to explore.

I would have liked to have checked out the Calhaunts Norcal booth. Some of their meetings are close enough for me to attend but haven't as of yet. It would have been nice to say hi while there and see their displays. I checked out their website pics from the 4/16 meeting and looked like a nice turnout. Nice project and the coffin and hearse in the driveway must have turned the heads of people driving by LOL. Also liked the tribal guy someone had with them. I did checked out the Maker Faire photos on their site and it was great to see Halloween projects represented at the Faire. Certainly got them a lot of exposure. I know their meetings are announced under the HF Conventions, Meetings etc. thread BTW.

Originally Posted by JeffHaas

- OHM My Gadgets new DMX controller (as mentioned on this board) with a talking pirate skeleton and chest that opened up. Very impressive. http://www.ohmmygadgets.com/medusadmx.html No video of the pirate yet, he says it's coming.

Heyyy... finally edited the video (I'm so indecisive, when it comes to picking software)... Here's the post about the display.

- Hook