11 Ways To Get Your Hands Dirty at Maker Faire Bay Area
Maker Faire’s never been about just sitting back and watching all the cool things (though there are lots of cool things to watch), it’s about making stuff yourself! There’s a ton of workshops to help you discover your new favorite hobby, and here are a few:
Kat Ammann’s Jewelry Making Basics
Get an intro into the creative world of jewelry making while crafting your own earring designs from an assortment of colorful pieces. No prior skills required! All tools & supplies will be provided. Attendees will leave with 1-2 pairs of earrings, as time allows.
Darcy Neal’s EMF Explorer Badge Soldering Workshop
Get ready to solder your own circuit board art piece that unlocks the ability to listen to the electromagnetic frequencies around you! The world is full of hidden electromagnetic frequencies, and so much can be learned by listening to their sounds! Explore the hidden frequencies produced by electronics, learn what different functions sound like, and walk away with a completed circuit board that can be worn on a lanyard for extra bling. Accessible to anyone who can safely use a soldering iron, with adult supervision necessary.
sporklogic.com/product/emf-explorer-soldering-kit
Scatha G. Allison’s Upcycled T-Shirt Charm
Come to a workshop session for a DIY upcycle t-shirt into a cute bag charm! Participants will knot their own charms – clips and T-shirts strips provided. Learn how to do a basic 4-strand braid and finish a personalized project from beginning to end that you take with you! Hosted by indie clothing artist and designer Scatha G Allison for Miss Velvet Cream Neocouture. Beginner skill levels OK! Youth ages 10 & under will need adult support. Approximate time is 40 minutes from start to finish for first timers.
Margaret Caragan’s Fight Club: Special FX
This is an introductory special makeup effects workshop, good for beginners, teens, artists and anyone looking to learn about the world of makeup. We’ll do demonstrations and try out materials to create several looks: bruises, cuts, wounds, and blood. Have fun and enjoy taking individual pictures of your work with us. Be sure to pose for fight photos with each other and group pics or it didn’t happen! You may work on yourselves or a model. Minors should be accompanied by an adult, who can double as their model. You may take your left over makeup supplies with you to practice more on your own (sponges, makeup, palette).
Creative Play Lab by SnackNotes
Come make your animations come alive with a mini-zoetrope you can build at the Maker Faire, try out “Meg-a-Sketch”, our giant whiteboard Etch-a-Sketch contraption, and play with our DIY electronic music toys. We’ll also share other fun maker projects designed to inspire young makers and their grownups to experiment, build, and create together at home.
Last year, our”Animation Studio for Junior Makers”delighted kids and grownups alike with hands-on animation activities and this year we’re bringing even more ways to spark creativity.
SnackNotes is a project by Brian (dad of two and engineer) who develops these creative projects with his own kids and shares them so other families can easily explore artistic and engineering ideas together with simple, engaging activities and free educational resources.
Douglass Brown’s Glass Blowing Experience. Make It and Take It!
Join us at CS-A02 and try your hand at making a stamped glass coin or one of many different styles of vases, terrarium or a milk jug. Come back in an hour and pick up your work fully annealed with our special equipment on our trailer. We use this trailer to go out into the public to schools, art fairs and concerts.
Maker Nexus
At the Maker Nexus booth you’ll be able to make your own custom polymer clay keyboard cap to take home, as well as work cooperatively with your friends to complete our 4-person ball maze. Stop by to say Hi to Binny, the wacky robot trash can as well!
Hammer, Tongs, Fire and Friends
Clay and Steel returns for some fiery forging demos. Celeste Flores, owner of Clay and Steel will be leading hands on hammer striking for a select number of people each day. (age 16+ with a signed waiver) Watch a team of smiths forge some fiery creations. Or come take some fun photos with forged props.
All ages can participate in the small metal arts and hammer out some copper charms.
Learn Chip Design by Making Games on FPGA!
Ever wondered how a chip designer does their job? In the Verilog Meetup booth at Maker Faire, you can learn the basics of SystemVerilog hardware description language in a fun way by creating circuits that implement graphical games. We can show you how to use FPGA boards to prototype your designs with reconfigurable logic. We are also compatible with TinyTapeout infrastructure, which allows you to manufacture your design in an ASIC chip.
The Hidden Life of Spices
Discover the chemistry of spices, their colors and flavors, their uses in cooking, medicine, fabric dyeing, and more. In this hands-on activity, visitors will learn how to use spices as dyes, and will discovery the chemistry behind their colors and aromas by building molecular models of key color and flavor components.
calacs.org/outreach/earth-week/earth-day-celebration-at-the-john-muir-historical-site-in-martinez
Debra Ansell’s Make an Edge-Lit Pendant
Turn a super simple circuit into a pretty pendant while learning a bit about LEDs. No soldering is required to turn a color-changing LED and laser-cut acrylic into a glowy accessory that will brighten up any outfit. Children under 12 may require adult assistance to help with the hand-eye coordination required for precise wire bending and handling small screws and nuts.
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