Pittsburgh Mini Maker Faire

The second annual Pittsburgh Mini Maker Faire will be held Sept. 22, 2012 from 10:00am-4:00pm at Buhl Community Park at Allegheny Square (formerly known as Allegheny Public Square) on the North Side, hosted again by HackPittsburgh and the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. Save the date and stay tuned for details!

The first Pittsburgh Mini Maker Faire was held on Sunday, October 23, and was a true wonder! Adults and kids of all ages eagerly got right into to the maker ethos – soldering LED badges, creating jewelry, operating robots, playing didgeridoos, a robotic marimba and other experimental instruments, sewing, silk screening posters, constructing tiny cardboard buildings, making abacuses and learning about 3D printing, lighting control and a host of other amazing maker projects.

We first want to thank HackPittsburgh and MAKE for partnering with the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh to make the first Pittsburgh Mini Maker Faire a reality. Thanks to the amazing makers, new and seasoned, of all ages, who made the Faire what it was. Thanks to the contributing sponsor Deeplocal for their generosity. Thanks to the wonderful volunteers, particularly the brothers of Beta Theta Pi at Carnegie Mellon University. And thanks to everyone who attended the event and made the day so memorable with your joy, curiosity and creativity.

What did you think of the Faire? Let us know via our Facebook page or Twitter. For ongoing maker-related programs at the Museum, stay tuned to www.makeshoppgh.com.

Here are some of the great photos by photographer Larry Rippel. For more photos, please visit Children’s Museum Flickr page.

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Hope we see you at Pittsburgh Mini Maker Faire today! It’s noon – 6:00 pm at the Children’s Museum on Pittsburgh’s Northside. Weather looks great, the staff and volunteers are great and the makers and their work are definitely not to be missed.

On a practical note, we are located near Heinz Field, but the Steeler game is away today, so don’t worry about traffic to the Northside. There are lots of parking options, some free, some not. Check the Parking tab for details and a map. Check the Attend tab or the Children’s Museum website for directions.

See you there!

The big day is finally, almost here.
The weather is looking great – we are expecting a beautiful fall day!

There will be 70+ makers at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh tomorrow, inside and out. You will see amazing, creative projects ranging in areas of DIY crafting and sewing to building, robotics, engineering/technology and puzzle making. The full list of makers is here.

There are several live performances planned throughout the day too.
Here are the highlights:

12:00- Faire Opening by the Great American Horn Machine – Out front of the museum
2:00 – Heather Kropf Live – Theater
3:00 – Pittsburgh Polka by the Great American Horn Machine – Out Front
4:00 – Premiere of The MakeShop Show – Theater
5:30 – Steam Whistle Talk and Salute to Makers Past and Present by the Great American Horn Machine – Out Front

Follow @PghMakerFaire on Twitter for live tweeting throughout the Faire tomorrow! If you are at the Maker Faire, tweet us your photos too!

See you all tomorrow!

Today’s Featured Maker:
Pittsburgh Knot Tying Club

The Pittsburgh Knot Tying Club will build on site a platform structure held together with knots and lashing. As well as a large visual draw to the fair, the platform will be the base for members of the club to teach basic knot tying to children and adults at the event. Although the public will not be climbing on the structure itself, it should provide an inspiration to think big in the little art of knot tying. Club members will have a variety of cordage and examples on hand to teach some basic knots that everyone should know.

See all of the participating makers.

Today’s Featured Maker:
Heather Kropf

Heather is a singer-songwriter with three self-produced albums. Heather’s most recent CD was virtually all home-made and co-produced with her partner bassist/engineer/arranger Randall Venturini. She also has art background.

You can see Heather’s performance at the Maker Faire- 2:00 pm in the Theater!

Visit Heather’s website.
See all of the participating makers.

Today’s Featured Maker:
Corissa McClay
MakerCraft Jewelry

MakerCraft makes it possible for you to create custom items by using mobile technology.

MakerCraft Jewelry lets you select from a collection of beads and charms and drag and drop them to create a personally designed piece of jewelry. You can then order the piece pre-assembled or as a DIY kit with custom instructions to assemble yourself. Explore this unique designing app on iPads at our Pittsburgh Maker Faire display.

Visit MakerCraft Jewelry website.
See all of the participating makers.

Oops- there was a miscounting of how many days until the big day. It is now 5 days before the event!

Today’s Featured Maker:
Lauren Capehart
Wool Spinning and Dyeing with Chinchillas 1957

Lauren will show you:

• How to spin yarn from wool, grocery sacks, t-shirts, etc with a spindle
• How to make spindles from everyday objects at home
• Finished objects from hand spun yarn on display
• How to knit and crochet
• Demonstrations of how to dye wool with water, Kool-Aid and vinegar in a microwave, simple explanation of “acid dyeing” and how dye becomes colorfast

Hand-blended fibers for spinning, handmade spindles and dye-at-home kits will be available for sale.

See all of the participating makers.

Here is a young maker with a very cool project:

Today’s Featured Maker:
Kerry Snyder
The Homemade Segway
Kerry is going to demonstrate the Homebuilt Segway-like balancing scooter that he built for his High School Senior Project.
Read Kerry’s blog.
See all of the participating makers.

Today’s Featured Maker:
Jet Townsend
open source digifab demo
Jet will bring a hacked/modified MakerBot Cupcake (open source 3d printer) and Lasersaur (open source laser cutter) and demonstrate onsite digital fabrication. He will be printing and cutting/etching items to be given away as part of this demo.
See all of the participating makers.