2015 Faire Success

The buzz of energy at the Morris Lawrence Building at WCC on Saturday was palpable. With record attendance (1600+), 46 exhibitors including businesses, schools, entrepreneurs, hobbyists, nonprofits, and artists, 3 food trucks, and raffle prizes given out throughout the day, this year’s 7th annual faire was truly outstanding.

Thank you to our sponsors for their generous donations: It keeps the faire free for exhibitors and free for attendees. A2Geeks, Make Media, the Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum, Maker Works, Brain Monkeys, ShopBot Tools, Ann Arbor State Bank, Game Start, Robo Todd Industries and Sight Machine. And a special thank you to the Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum for hosting our Exhibitor Pre-Party.

 

Thank you to our amazing exhibitors who provided the crowds of people with demos, projects, conversation and information. Thank you for staying up late finishing your displays and then getting up early to set them up, for driving in from all areas of southeast Michigan and the Toledo area, and for your hours of enthusiasm and energy in interacting with attendees. It was an exhausting day and you did great!

And finally thank you for attending. As volunteer organizers, we strive to bring new aspects to the faire year after year. The days leading up are always a little tense, with hope that on the day-of people will show up. And this year, you certainly did: Tons of families and people of all ages, which is a testament to the  curiosity and support found in our region.

So thank you for being part of the 7th annual Ann Arbor Mini Maker Faire!

And don’t forget to check out our Facebook page for lots of photos.

See you next year!

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Final days before this Saturday’s Faire

This week is always a rush to the end, getting tickets and signage printed, tables cloths and snacks for our exhibitors purchased, and … uh-oh, what else are we forgetting!!?? Yet it always seems to come together by Saturday.

Thank you to the Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum for hosting our Exhibitor Pre-Party tonight! Director Mel Drumm is a huge supporter of the faire year after year. John Bowditch and Ari Morris and their outreach/education teams put so much enthusiasm and effort in creating engaging demos utilizing both new and old technologies.

When you are at the faire, make sure to look down at the ground (or in front of you!) as you walk around. There will be a few robots moving through the crowds: Brad Jensen and his Super Cheat Robot Platform, Rocks and Robots’ Flying robots, and Lauro Ojeda’s Lego Drawing Robot.

Makers in the Arts bring another dimension to this year’s faire: We don’t want to forget about the ‘A’ in STEM= STEAM. EMU’s Digital Fabrication professors and students will have some 3D printers, arduinos doing crazy things and more featuring open source software and hardware. Fly Art Center is also joining us for the first time in a hands-on water-based project. And the Niji-Iro Japanese Immersion Elementary School is going to teach us a few traditional Japanese crafts such as fish-printing and origami.

REMINDER: Get your tickets NOW for the Faire! Though they aren’t required because the faire is free, it helps us keep track of each year’s attendance record.