Calling All Makers, Artists, Performers, Scientists, Crafters and Engineers for Cal Poly Co-Produced SLO Mini Maker Fair
Applications are being accepted until Feb. 28 for maker-exhibitors in the second annual SLO Mini Maker Faire, co-produced by Cal Poly.
The SLO Mini Maker Faire celebrates do-it-yourself (DIY) creativity and tinkering. Participants of all ages come together to make, create, learn, invent, craft, recycle, build, think, play and be inspired by celebrating arts, crafts, engineering, food, music, science and technology. The event will be held 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 10, in Mission Plaza and is free and open to the public.
The 2014 SLO Mini Maker Faire will offer interactive performances, including a featured event from the Cal Poly Science Cafe and maker booths showcasing demonstrations and hands-on activities such as exhibits on rockets and robots, DIY science and technology, unique textile arts and crafts, unusual tools and machines, green technology, sustainability, upcycling, alternative energy, bicycles, music and local food, educational workshops and installations, and more.
The event highlights Cal Poly’s focus on Learn by Doing by including students in the planning, design and operation of the faire. Students from the Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies Program and Professor Tom Fowler’s third-year architecture design studio are collaborating to design the interactive centerpiece structure of the Mini Maker Faire around the theme “Making Communities, Making Stories.”
Organizers anticipate that many Cal Poly clubs will also participate as makers at this year’s event. In 2013, club participants included KCPR, Engineers Without Borders, the Materials Engineering Student Societies, IEEE, and the Learn by Doing Lab. Individuals and teams of students are encouraged to apply for a booth.
Groups or individuals interested in participating as exhibiting makers need to complete the online application by Feb. 28. Exhibits that are interactive and hands-on or that highlight the process of making things, including how to fix them and take them apart, are especially desired. New for 2014, a Young Maker Division (18 and under) has been created. Participants will be featured online.
Cal Poly co-production partners include the Center for Excellence in STEM Education, the Center for Expressive Technologies, the Cal Poly Science Café, along with faculty and staff from Kennedy Library, the Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies Program, and the departments of architecture, computer science, ethnic studies, materials engineering, physics, political science, and women’s and gender studies.
In addition to Cal Poly partners, the SLO Mini Maker Faire is co-produced by the SLO Museum of Art (SLOMA), Central Coast Makerspace at Los Osos Middle School, the Central Coast STEM Education Collaborative (CCSTEM), iFixit, SLO MakerSpace, and the Sm(ART) Studio in collaboration with faculty from the Fine Arts Department at Cuesta College and mentors from the Greybots, an Atascadero robotics team.
Sponsors include the PCC Grants-In-Aid and multiple organizations at Cal Poly, including the Center for Excellence in STEM Education, the Center for Expressive Technologies, the College of Liberal Arts, and the College of Engineering. Sponsorship packages are available for those interested in supporting this community extravaganza.
Images and logos are available at http://slominimakerfaire.com/media/.
SLO Mini Maker Faire is independently organized and operated under license from Maker Media, Inc.
About the Maker Faire
The SLO Mini Maker Faire is a community-focused event derived from its parent, the Maker Faire. The Maker Faire was debuted in 2005 in San Mateo, Calif., by the individuals behind MAKE and CRAFT magazines. In 2013, the original Maker Faire celebrated its eighth annual show with some 900 makers and 120,000 people in attendance. In 2014, Maker Faire will host more than 100,000 visitors May 17-18. Community-driven, independently organized Mini Maker Faires are being produced around the U.S, and the world — including San Luis Obispo.