News Archives - Page 4 of 4 - Maker Faire Miami

We’ve been crazy busy trying to get everyone on point for the 16th, but came up for air just long enough last night to notice we have been featured in several media channels over the past few days! Here’s a quick take on the action:

Nancy Dahlberg is a business and tech writer over at the Miami Herald and writes a blog which covers the South Florida tech scene called “The Starting Gate“. She’s been busy getting into the maker community which has been gaining incredible momentum here in South Florida. Last Thursday, she published this beautiful piece of coverage about our community and what we’ve been brewing.

[…] to showcase all the activity, a Miami Mini Maker Faire, a one-day extravaganza for all things handmade, is coming to three locations in Wynwood next month. There, about 60 makers will exhibit their creations — including a school bus converted into a micro-theater, a high-tech, high-def pinball machine and, possibly, [Brian] Weiner’s 16-foot biplane made from bamboo. There also will be presentations, workshops and activities for all ages at the Mini Maker Faire, which is expected to draw about 1,000. “It’s a great place to bring your kids,” said organizer Rick Herrero.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/10/23/v-fullstory/3707942/maker-movement-grows-in-south.html

The rest of the article describes new makerspaces which are popping up all over South Florida and includes a gallery of photos from various events in the community. This, alone, was great! Little did we know that the story would be appearing in print on the FRONT PAGE of the Miami Herald.

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We shared the HELL out of that story and got some incredible attention! The next day, we were covered in the South Florida Business Journal.

DIY experts and fanatics are getting together in Wynwood Nov. 16 to share their work and their enthusiasm for things like robotics and 3D printing.

Read more here: http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/blog/morning-edition/2013/10/robotics-3d-printing-and-diy-creation.html
Oscar Pedro Musibay reporting.

And the coup de grâce was discovering that we had been featured on the front page of the Make Blog.

“The Miami Mini Maker Faire is one part of a plan to build a sense of community among these local makers and connect them with a larger global movement.” said Matt Haggman, Knight Foundation program director in Miami.

Read more here: http://makezine.com/2013/10/25/feel-the-heat-maker-faire-coming-to-miami/
Thank you for sharing, Stett Holbrook

As a community organizer and advocate of the maker movement, it is incredibly gratifying to be able to produce an event like the Miami Mini Maker Faire which has the ability to attract so many creatives across such a diverse set of disciplines; not to mention the reception this event has received from the community. We greatly look forward to seeing you on November 16th.

If you don’t already know, Miami Mini Maker Faire is a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the maker movement. Get tickets to join us on November 16th in Wynwood!

Written by Mike Greenberg, producer for the Miami Mini Maker Faire and a director for Hacklab North Boynton, a non-profit makerspace in Palm Beach County.

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The Knight Foundation is a powerhouse catalyst for the tech community in Miami. By creating valuable platforms that allow creative professionals to rally, express and flourish; the Knight Foundation has seeded the community with resources that will launch this region onto the national stage. They are supporters of our venue partners; The LAB Miami, O Cinema, and The Lightbox; which are perfect examples of these valuable platforms. And just recently, they announced their sponsorship of the Miami Mini Maker Faire!

Incredible thanks goes to the Knight Foundation for helping to bring the first Miami Mini Maker Faire home. The event is certain to be a beacon which attracts creative and intellectually-stimulating ideas. The production team, advisors and volunteers all look forward to sharing these experiences with you.

Read the press release about our partnership with the Knight Foundation.

We were featured on the Makezine Blog!

Due to growing demand from folks who wish to show their DIY projects at the Miami Mini Maker Faire, we are opening our Call for Makers for a second round, running through October 27th! If you missed the first round, please apply today to have your projects or products exhibited at Miami Mini Maker Faire by filling out our simple application.

If you scrambled to get your applications in during the first round, don’t fret. All makers who applied by September 30th will receive preferred placement at the Miami Mini Maker Faire, plus be featured on our website by mid-October!

Miami Mini Maker Faire producer, Ric Herrero, wrote a piece for The Miami Herald’s Starting Gate blog on his recent visit to World Maker Faire in NYC and why we’re bringing this exciting event to Miami! Read it at the Starting Gate blog here, or below.

At Maker Faire, art and technology merge to give us a glimpse at the future

By Ric Herrero

The fourth annual World Maker Faire was held in Queens, NY, this past weekend. For two days, over 70,000 people showed up to meet some 700 makers whose projects ranged from quadcopter drones and 3D printed toys, to solar powered robots and sensor-based gadgets that can wire your entire home and garden to the Internet. The Faire also featured a full outdoor bazaar with artisans selling hand-made clothing, jewelry and home goods, plus circus acrobats, musicians, a life-sized version of the Mouse Trap board game, a Coke and Mentos geyser show, and lots, I mean lots, of rockets.

Think Science Fair-meets-County Fair-meets-Burning Man-meets-Renegade, and you’re only halfway there. Maker Faire is a family-friendly celebration of DIY creativity, resourcefulness and invention, with the kind of “gee-whiz” energy you likely haven’t felt since you first visited Tomorrowland as a kid.

The World Maker Faire in New York is second in size only to the original Maker Faire, which was first held in San Mateo, CA and in 2013 celebrated its eighth annual show with some 900 makers and 120,000 people in attendance. Detroit, Kansas City, Newcastle (UK), Rome and Tokyo are the home of “featured” 2013 Maker Faires (200+ makers), and community-driven, independently organized Mini Maker Faires are now being produced around the United States and the world—including right here in Miami.

Though far from mainstream, the popularity of Maker Faires has surged in recent years for several reasons, not limited to the following:

They’re fun interactive events that make kids (and adults) excited about crafting, circuit electronics, and soldering. “I want to make a robot and take it home!” I overheard one little girl tell her dad in a voice that made you believe they weren’t going home that day without a new friend in tow.
They explore cutting-edge trends in education, science, tech and design. At World Maker Faire, I saw panels discussing the re-emergence of hands-on STEM education at American schools, the rise of design labs and makerspaces, and how wearable computing, sensor-driven and big data, social networks, and location apps are ushering in a hyper-personalized future where we will be increasingly able to communicate with every physical object around us.
They provide a wonderful opportunity to meet local tech and design talent at the ground floor. It’s no wonder that companies like Disney, Google, Intel, Ford, Toyota and Autodesk are sponsoring Faires around the world. Over the past 8 years, several cutting edge products have debuted at the Faires, including the Arduino and Raspberry Pi microcontrollers so popular in engineering classes these days, commercial 3D printers such as the Makerbot Replicator, and countless Etsy shops.

The first Miami Mini Maker Faire (of which I’m proud to be a producer), will take place on November 16^th in Wynwood and will feature both established and emerging regional makers specializing in DIY technology, arts and crafts, including hardware hacking, 3D printing, robotics, handmade goods, urban manufacturing and farming, alternative energy, apparel, artistic performances, craft food and drink, and educational workshops and installations.

Miami has a long tradition of DIY ingenuity and tinkering. Many who have arrived at our shores came with some technical or artisan skill, yet for decades found little opportunity to put their skills to professional use. Recently, as jobs have become scarcer, makers young and old have taken the entrepreneurial route and started their own businesses making things, or using technology to hack traditionally “non-tech” goods into something new, while others still practice their skills as a hobby. However, these talented individuals have yet to coalesce around a “maker movement” as many others have in major cities around the world.

The Miami Mini Maker Faire provides these makers with a unique opportunity to show what they have made and to share what they have learned with their community at large. It will to help foster a sustainable maker culture in our region, and will serve as a bellwether for how far we’ve come as a creative community, and how far we have yet to go.

I strongly encourage any makers who wish to exhibit their work or DIY projects at the Miami Mini Maker Faire to complete our online application by September 30th at www.makerfairemiami.com.

Ric Herrero is co-founder of MIAMade, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering a sustainable maker culture in the Great Miami area, and producer of the Miami Mini Maker Faire.

Photo of Ric Herrero by Catalina Ayubi.

Your organization will benefit from publicity through our marketing and promotional efforts directed toward makers and DIY-ers in Miami and across South Florida. Seven sponsorship packages are available to appeal to both small and large organizations that want to align with this incredible community extravaganza!

Click here to choose your sponsorship levels and enjoy excellent exposure to this important segment of your target audience.

The Miami Mini Maker Faire is expected to draw over 1,000 people to see a wide variety of maker exhibits, workshops, and engage in other cool presentations.

The logistics required for this event are challenging, therefore we are seeking passionate volunteers who embrace the spirit of Maker Faire and the creativity and resourcefulness that it represents.

We need your help identifying local hobbyists, artists and commercial makers to exhibit at Miami Mini Maker Faire, as well as spreading the word about this awesome event.

If you wish to contribute to the success of Miami Mini Maker Faire, please consider the following volunteer roles. Send us an email at miamimakers@gmail.com and let us know a little bit about you, your interests in Miami Mini Maker Faire and the role you would like to play.

Join us tomorrow during Makeshop Miami‘s Open Hack Night at LAB Miami, where we will collect applications from local makers and share the latest information on Miami’s very first Mini Maker Faire!

WHERE: The LAB Miami (map)
WHEN: 7:00pm – 11:00pm, Friday, August 30th
WHO: Anyone who wants to learn about Miami Mini Maker Faire!

Just click on the “ATTEND” tab on the menu above to purchase tickets for the 2013 Miami Mini Maker Faire! The Early Bird ticket price is $5.00, and free for children 5 and under.

Be sure to register early to save money and avoid waiting in line on the day of the Faire!

The word is out about Miami Mini Maker Faire, and now’s the time to spread it far and wide! For our first Call to Makers event, will be visiting our friends at Makers Square in Fort Lauderdale for an open house and Q&A session this Saturday. Wether you’re a Broward maker, or just curious about the maker movement, we encourage you in to swing by, share the awesome stuff you’re working on, and heed the call to participate at our one-of-a-kind Mini Maker Faire in November.

WHERE: Makers Square (map)
WHEN: 1:30pm – 4:30pm, Saturday, August 10th
WHO: Anyone who wants to learn about Miami Mini Maker Faire!
More Details: http://www.meetup.com/south-florida-hack-and-tell/events/126755472/

If you can’t make it to Fort Lauderdale this weekend, rest assured that we’ll soon have Call to Makers events in Miami and Palm Beach. You can follow us using the social media channel of your choice (through the social links on the right) and we’ll update you on when and where they’re happening. Hope to see you at one of our events soon!

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