Maker Faire 2015

Last weekend I had the opportunity to present our makerspace-related research at the inaugural National Maker Faire in Washington DC. This year the Nation of Makers, the DC government, Make Media and the University of the District of Columbia collaborated to make the event even bigger than last year's Mini Maker Faire, with over 20,000 attendees over the course of its two-day run.

For a sense of scale, here's a hyperlapse video I created of the main booth areas.

The 125 booths were an interesting mix of individual makers, universities (Cornell, UC Berkeley, George Mason, Worcester Polytechnic), small businesses, corporations (HP, Samsung, CITRIX, LEGO, Mattel), government agencies (Patent Office, NASA, USDA, US military), makerspaces and small startups from across the United States. I particularly enjoyed talking with other college students and independent makers about their projects, and hearing about the resources and makerspace programs that public libraries and schools are starting up.

Thank you to Brian O'Connell, Marya Schnedeker, Leo Madariaga and the CEEO for supporting this trip and giving me the opportunity to attend my very first Maker Faire. I saw a lot of interesting projects, met many inspirational and smart people, and had a great time presenting our work.