Maker Faire: The Greatest Show & Tell on Earth

A report by Ava Gorauskas

This year I went to the Maker Faire in California with my dad and my twin brother. The Maker Faire is a big fair that has lots of people who have made stuff. There were also people there who are starting businesses like selling 3-d printers.

Little Bits http://littlebits.cc/

I saw an octopus thing that had flame throwers on the top of its head and flame throwers on each of its tentacles (or arms). The flame throwers were coordinated to music and went on with the rhythm of the music.

I also saw a life sized mouse trap that actually worked. The funny part about it was that the bowling ball (which they used as the marble) didn’t get kicked by the boot and someone had to go tip the bucket to get it to go. Instead of a cage falling at the end onto mice, a 2-ton safe fell into the bed of a pickup truck.

3D printer at the Microsoft booth

My favorite part of the Maker Faire was getting to see all of the 3-D printers. One of the 3-D printers was only $100. Usually they are a lot more expensive than that. The material for it was only $30 for each pack. I liked the printers because I imagined that I could print a trophy for my friends for being such good friends.

While we were there my dad got me a “Make your own calculator” kit and you need to be able to solder parts of it, so that really got me into soldering. When we got home, I got my own soldering iron and started to learn how to solder.

Ava Soldering

The first step in soldering is to have a clean working area. The second step is to protect yourself by putting on some safety glasses. The third step is to get all of your stuff together that you are going to need including the solder (wire), a soldering iron, and a helping hand (also called a third hand). The fourth step is to get the thing that you are going to solder ready. The fifth step is to pick up the solder and the soldering iron and then do the soldering. Soldering is connecting two metal pieces together with the wire that melts onto the pieces. It is basically welding.

Soldering is really fun. I recommend soldering to anyone who is at least in 3rd grade. You have to be very careful not to burn yourself because the soldering iron is really hot.

My sources are:

1. The Maker Faire http://makerfaire.com
2. The Radio Shack User’s Guide for the “25W Learn-to-Solder Kit”
3. My Dad who taught me how to Solder

More Pictures:

3D gaming expo

Lego Aircraft Carrier

Lego Mindstorms Robots

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