Maker Faire, the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth, held on May 19 and 20 at the San Mateo County Event Center, promises a memorable weekend of creativity, learning, inspiration, and making. From learning about Arduino and 3D printing, to interacting with robots, a life-size electric giraffe and mobile muffins, Maker Faire has it all. In addition to well over 700 Makers exhibiting their amazing creations at the festival, speakers, special events, and other highlights of the weekend include:

– BrollyFlock: A 32-foot tall installation of a renegade flock of umbrellas, BrollyFlock is fun and inviting for all. BrollyFlock’s effects are controlled by an interactive Arduino control system that takes input from the crowd to produce light, shade, mist and fire.

– Death Defying Figure 8 Pedal Car Races: Showcasing their handmade, unusual pedal powered cars, Bunnyfluffer Cyclecars and the Fun Bike Unicorn Club will compete on a figure eight race track for all to see.

– Hotshot the Robot: The world’s only living robot, HotShot has hands that feel, eyes that see, and a heart that beats. Come meet HotShot for yourself and learn about makes him tick.

– A Maker Faire favorite, attendees will enjoy hearing from Adam Savage of MythBusters. Adam will be speaking at 11am on Sunday, May 20, in Fiesta Hall.

– Massimo Banzi, the co-founder of the Arduino Product, will be speaking about the “State of Arduino” on Saturday, May 19 at 3pm on the Center Stage.

– Eben Upton, Founder of Raspberry Pi, speaks on Saturday, May 19 at 1pm, on Raspberry Pi: How a $35 Computer Will Give Students an Appetite for STEM. Parents and educators alike are sure to find this presentation interesting and informative.

– On Sunday, May 20, at 2pm, Ben Davis, Amy Critchett and Timothy Childs from Illuminate the Arts and Saeed Shahmirzai from Zoon Engineering, will showcase Leo Villareal’s “The Bay Lights: 1.5 Miles of Public Art on the Bay Bridge.” Learn how 25,000 individually addressable LEDs are programmed to create a unique fine arts experience that so many of us will view on a daily basis!

– Homegrown Village: Located in the Show Barn, Homegrown Village is a lively celebration of agrarian skills, earth-friendly living, and the sources of good food! Make cheese with urban farmers, learn how to preserve all kinds of foods, and take home your own hand-made butter.

Maker Faire Goldsmith Sponsor, GE will be featuring GE Garages. GE Garages is a skill-building center powered by TechShop and developed in partnership with Skillshare, Quirky, Make and Inventables to serve as an advanced manufacturing lab for technologists, entrepreneurs and every day Americans. The innovation and manufacturing center aims to spark interest and engagement for modern making from prototyping inventions to modern manufacturing-based technologies through hands-on experiences with 3D printers, a CNC Mill, laser cutter, injection molder and through special classes in the space. Come learn about the future of making and get to make something yourself!

TechShop, another Goldsmith Sponsor, is a membership-based open access workshop and prototyping studio. Often referred to as “a gym for makers,” TechShop provides members with access to a world class workspace, tools, machines, instruction, mentoring, and a community of fellow makers. “For the first time in human history we’re truly democratizing access to the tools of innovation. And we’re doing it for about the cost of a bad coffee addiction,” said Mark Hatch, TechShop’s CEO. Hear Mark speak about this topic on Saturday, May 19, at 3:30 pm on Center Stage.

Exhibiting at every Bay Area Maker Faire since the inaugural event in 2006, TechShop has become a perennial favorite with makers and attendees. Located in Expo Hall, TechShop will showcase TechShop makers working on their latest innovations (including Andy Filo and his jetpack), and a hands-on make-and-take activity area. TechShop will also be offering Maker Faire exclusive membership deals, so visit the TechShop booth and join thousands of makers who call TechShop home.

Attendees can navigate the event before arriving on-site by visiting http://makerfaire.com/bayarea/2012/schedule/index.html. Available for download are: the Program Guide to the event (PDF), the new Maker Faire Bay Area 2012 smart phone app, and a map of the Event Center with all Maker Faire happenings (PDF). Also accessible from this web page are the schedules for all presentations, demos, music and other performances as well as the exhibitor list.

Whether attendees come to Maker Faire to learn how to recycle a pair of old blue jeans into new fashion accessories, make their cell phone operate as a microscope, or see fountains of Coke Zero propelled by minty Mentos, they are sure to encounter more than what they came for. The incredible variety of exhibits, demos, presentations and performances available at Maker Faire Bay Area 2012 will wow the crowds and open their eyes to all that is possible in the world of making.

Calendar Editors

A celebration of DIY culture, Maker Faire Bay Area 2012 runs Saturday-Sunday, May 19-20, at the San Mateo County Event Center, 1346 Saratoga Drive, San Mateo. Saturday, 10 am to 8 pm; Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm. $12 – $30; ages 3 and under are free. http://www.makerfaire.com. To purchase tickets, including weekend passes: www.makerfaire.com.

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Maker Faire Sponsors

Maker Faire Bay Area 2012 Goldsmith Sponsors include: Intel, Oracle, RadioShack, Autodesk, General Electric and TechShop.

Produced by MAKE Magazine and O’Reilly Media, Maker Faire is part playground, part science fair, part welding shop, part county fair and 100 percent unique.

About Maker Faire

The inaugural Maker Faire was held in San Mateo, CA in 2006. Maker Faire Bay Area will celebrate its seventh annual Bay Area event in May 2012 with over 100,000 people in attendance. As Maker Faire has grown in popularity and relevance, additional Faires were launched in 2010 in Detroit and New York City. Community-driven, independently produced Mini Maker Faire events inspired by Maker Faire are now being produced around the United States and the World. Maker Faire is supported by MAKE magazine and O’Reilly Media, the information source for leading-edge computer technologies. For more information about Maker Faire, please visit www.makerfaire.com

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