Virtually Maker Faire 2020 Tonight!

We are making Personal Protective Equipment at Home... and our Make story is one of hundreds being shared, virtually around the world. As of last night, with San Diego 3D Printing For a Cause, we have made, and donated 10,336 pieces of PPE, including ear-savers, face shields, and fabric masks, since April 1!

Learn our Make story, and many others at Virtually Maker Faire!

Around the world makers have been rallying, rising up to solve shortages in medical supplies and equipment, turning makerspaces into micro-factories, creating self-organized community networks, and developing clever distribution strategies. For our inaugural Virtually Maker Faire, makers representing 25 countries will share over 350 presentations, demonstrations, and online project exhibits. Programming is curated into five tracks: Community Organizing, Learning & Teaching, Re-Thinking the Future, Design & Production, and Making.

Virtually Maker Faire is a stage for makers to connect, share, and learn with each other and a broader public, and show how the community fostered by Maker Faire has sprung into action, using their skills and talents to solve for human needs.

Plan out your virtual day with the full schedule or meet some of our fantastic makers.

Upcoming Session Highlights
Check session pages or the schedule for updated times.
Making a Global Movement in Crisis: the Story of Open Source Medical Supplies
Gui Cavalcanti, founder of Open Source Medical Supplies, will talk about the role of Open Source in the pandemic and how their group documented the global fabrication of over 7 million units of personal protective equipment, medical and community supplies.
View Session

How Making 3D Printers Widely Available Enabled Covid-19 Solutions: From RepRap to Prusa
Maker Faire Founder Dale Dougherty will talk with RepRap's Adrian Bowyer and Josef Prusa of Prusa Research about the rise of 3D printing and how getting 3D printing in the hands of more people enabled so many of the PPE solutions from the maker community, including developing and testing the Prusa Face Shield and its spread around the world.
View Session

DIY Heroes: Meet the Makers Featured in Make: Vol. 73
The new issue of Make: magazine looks at the maker response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Join Make:’s Executive Editor Mike Senese and the editorial team as they discuss the new issue with the various subjects that are profiled in its pages.
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Pivoting in the Pandemic — Adafruit NYC
Adafruit founder Limor Fried will talk about pivoting production smartly and safely during the pandemic, from making face shields to essential electronic components as their home town of New York City became a hot spot for the virus.
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How to Use Social Media as a Maker Portfolio
Panelists Ana Karen Ramirez, Estefannie Explains It All, Jen Schachter, and Xyla Foxlin will discuss how to leverage social media to showcase your work, create your own maker community, and give a glimpse of the behind the scenes of your processes.
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ArcAttack's Tesla Coil Music
Tesla coil music live-streamed from ArcAttack’s shop as a Grand Finale to Virtually Maker Faire!
View Session

Our Mission in Making

Our family began this Make club inspired by Maker Faire, and our need to address learning with consideration for neural-diversity. For nearly a decade we have been bringing our projects and hands-on activities to STEM and art events, and school functions, including Maker Faires, Burning Man, FIRST Robotics, Fanime, ComicCon, The Science March, and International Scratch Day. We also host our own events where we mentor and peer-teach sewing, soldering, metal forging, design, CAD, CnC, 3D printing, cooking, gardening, art, sculpting, crafts, crochet, wool felting, embroidery, cosplay, shelter making, electronics, programming, construction, and robotics. We love to make opportunities for sharing skills, and helping people find answers, support, and resources for making things. We especially want to support young people, and people with limited resources and opportunities. We do all of this out of pocket, in our free time, between schools and jobs.

A few years ago I found a box of note books in a thrift store. They were small and plain, and what I consider very handy, because of their size, and being well made, but not so expensive or fancy that they were too precious. I love small things and notebooks, so I was super stoked about my find. Then I started using my Scout books and felt a greedy panic! I loved them, found them convenient and helpful, and I worried about finding more, and whether I’d have to conserve the few I had. Fortunately, I discovered more in shops, and breathed a big sigh of relief.

I use my Scout books to gift, and for travel notes that include important numbers, flight info and reservations and then each book can become a little scrap book of the trip, and I add stickers and any ephemera I collect, sketches, and observations. I have a Scout Book for birding, and another with class notes for oil painting. They slip in my small purse, or back pocket; compact and convenient!

This is not a paid endorsement. No one asked me to promote Scout Books. I just happened to find them on IG today, and it got me thinking about our club branding, how we present Benevolent Order of Makers on social media. We had a logo for our initial blog and club, when we were "Love & Rockets, Art & Engineering." But for years we have been promising ourselves an updated logo, business cards, a Look. And those thoughts lead me to revisiting ideas about who we are, what our club means to us, and where we would like to go. I've been a bit neglectful of this blog, but posting quite regularly on IG at @BOoMNerds... this seems like a good chance to revisit our mission, our ideals, here on the blog, and to share my thoughts on considering using Scout Books as a tool and outreach connection.












When we mentor, or share our projects, we love to instill the idea in people’s minds that their interests and ideas are worthwhile and achievable. No matter the age or skill level of the people we are connecting with, we want them to feel encouraged and capable, and so we put tools in their hands, we listen to them, and explore their ideas with them. I’m thinking of how nice it would be to put a Scout Book into a child’s hands and say, “Let’s make a drawing of your idea, and write down some thoughts. An engineer, an artist, always keeps notes.” Our notes, our ideas and plans, written down, committed to paper have such a dignity and permanence; it gives us credibility, some empowerment. In Benevolent Order of Makers, all of our projects begin with a conversation that inevitably moves to paper where we sketch, doodle, write lists, make plans, and Scout Books make an ideal tool for this stage of the process.

For myself, I have found that when I feel unsure or tentative, I write small, I draw small. Sometimes, children feel their lack of expertise means they aren't capable of contributing, or having a "legitimate" voice in a process. A Scout Book is small and intimate, a private and personal space, and with its quality of design, it gives credibility and "officialness" to a person's ideas and efforts. I’m thinking about ordering Scout books to use as a tool, a calling card to represent our mission and ideals. I like to believe that it would be a nice way to introduce our club, and it would initiate and support what we believe in, what we want everyone to believe... we have good ideas, we can develop plans, and learn, we can make, we can play, and we can share.

Making Our Way to Gaslight Gathering

The Benevolent Order of Makers are excited to be joining forces with our friends, San Diego Makers Guild, in their booth at Gaslight Gathering, in San Diego. Our makers will be sharing a hands-on activity... making fabric medallions called yo-yos. These scrap-fabric decorations can be sewn together to assemble a bedcover, or used individually to decorate hats, dresses, create mushroom caps, or appliquéd to pillows. They are easy to make, and can inspire Victorian-Steampunk style to just about anything.



Also in our booth, come see original paintings and drawings by Alex V2, a longtime robotics designer, and fantasy artist. With skill and imagination, Alex seamlessly integrates practical engineering and design into daydreamed inventions and worlds. San Diego Makers Guild will be showing off some steampunk(ish) robots and teaching plastic casting and mold making, with reusable, low temperature thermoplastic." Sounds like there will be plenty going on at Gaslight Gathering to make a weekend great!

Make Little Paper Flowers

Seven years ago we made big, bodacious paper napkin flowers. Now, we are taking this hands-on activity to a Barnes & Noble Mini Maker Faire... still paper, still bodacious, but this time a bit smaller!

Here is our original tutorial for making paper flowers, and we used napkins, but the same principles apply, and you can easily make large or small paper flowers following our tips. Once you master the basics, it's easy and fun to get creative and make your own unique floral varieties.

Our craft store had a variety pack of colored tissue papers. I cut the large sheets down... not too preciously, because everything gets trimmed anyway. Hopefully, this generous supply will be enough for sharing with the visitors to the Faire.

Perfect timing for photo purposes... Maria is teaching Geoff how to make a paper flower, so here is a picture of Geoff's accordion folded papers, cinched together with string. We've found that six pieces of paper makes a nice, full blossom. More paper gets too thick to manage without tearing paper.

Now... trim the ends. Maria is cutting a point which will give her petals a daisy or zinnia look. Crinkle cut the ends and you can make a carnation.

Here, Geoff has cut the ends in a nice rounded curve, which will make petals like a dahlia, or ranunculus.

Now carefully separate each paper... pulling them up toward center, one petal at a time. The paper tears easily, and not every tear means a disaster, but do be patient.

The center of the flower will get thick, and so don't expect to tug the tissue paper up too much. Once all the petals are up, you can turn the paper, making adjustments to the look of your flower.

Mix colors, play with the cut ends. We slipped a bobbie pin into the tie at the base of the flower, and we are wearing flowers in our hair.

Tie them together for party decorations. Glue them to a headband, attach them to a parade float, make a piñata!

Maker Faire San Diego~Balboa Park

A few of us BOoM Nerds... Max, Ido and Bex, Geoff, Maria, Amira, Bambi, Alex, and William, with Natalie and Paul in front.

We were at Maker Faire in San Diego, this time in the Museum of Man, with our good friends and collaborators Junkcade! We were entry #702, and we came with two of our robots, a lot of woodworking pieces, some props, crafts, 3D printed samples, Bambi's costumes, the Laputa cosplay, and flowers. Lots of flowers. Besides what we shared, and exhibited, there was even more for us to witness, and enjoy, and this post is going to touch on just a bit of what there was to see and do at the Greatest Show and Tell on Earth: Maker Faire!

Ready?

Think
Tinker
Play
Make
Share!

Saturday :: Maria and Bex setting up~

Our newest venture... teaching floral crown making. This was a dream come true, really ambitious, and totally worthwhile.

Da Vinci, our drawing robot.

Fellow Maker in the Museum of Man, Balboa Park, now skilled in the art of flower crown making, too.


Maria and Natalie agree that seeing people engrossed in, in awe of, and excited for making is a huge reward for us as exhibitors.

Bambi and Alex brought props and cosplay samples, as well as art supplies.

William, Max, Alex, Bambi, Maria... we count on all of our crew to get this show going.

Grant and Jordan made it, too, and we got Laputa out into the Park, where they met up with our friends, Russel and Frank Lawlor, of The Electric Giraffe Project.

Looks like Robot Resurrection and Laputa are going to meet.

I've already suggested to San Diego Maker Faire that next year we should have a Robot Parade. We know about marching, especially for science, and we have award winning robot-in-a-parade experience, too.

Wowzers! Laputa is really, really tall. Like 12' tall, but this fellow towers over our guy!

Do you know Tommy Edison, the Blind Film Critic? He has a YouTube channel where he shares his impressions and thoughts about the world from his unique perspective. He came to Maker Faire and wanted other exhibitors to bring their projects to him, so he could see and hear what Makers do.

We won't "say" what we shared... we'll share a link to the video interview when it becomes available!

Here is what the invitation to meet Tommy Edison said,
"Outside of the Faire, are you prepared to tell others about your creation without the visual representation? How do you discuss and describe something new, different, or complex without it being there to show off? How do you make keep it clear and concise?
Tommy Edison has been blind since birth and his interview with the makers will give a unique marketing experience. Talk with a blind man about your project, learn from his life experiences, and learn how to share your projects..."

Tommy is a warm and funny man, disarming and easy going. It was a treat to meet him, and of course we loved sharing our creations, intentions, and ideas, and then hearing his take on what we've got going on. We even got invited back to share more BOoM projects, like weaving and making the flower crowns. It was an enlightening experience to expand our thinking about what we are making, and how it can be appreciated and described in new ways.

It's always a highlight of any Maker Faire to see familiar faces, to have friends come and visit. Hello, Myron! Later, we went out to visit our favorite FIRST team... Paradox!

One of our favorite sections of Maker Faire is on the Festival Stage of the Old Globe, where artists from the Globe and other theatrically themed crafts are exhibiting. This is where we met Bruce Thompson, and his puppets.

He made these paper mâché puppets almost four decades ago, and he was very helpful about how he makes them. A new project for BOoM to play and tinker at? Yes, I think so!

Maria had a great time making these tiny puppet heads using the clay Bruce provided for visitors to his exhibit.

Onstage, at the Festival Theater, which gives a beautiful and unique view of the California Tower, in Balboa Park.

Day one is almost done... but there's more!


Another day, and another view of that beautiful California Tower in Balboa Park.

Good Morning, Maker Faire San Diego!

This may be one of the nicest spots we've ever had to exhibit from. Just look at the view we had from San Diego Museum of Man.

Inside was lovely, too.

We had great company... in the museum, all over the park. Here are Ido and Simon talking to Aaron about electroplating.

Aaron and Nedda were demonstrating their process for turning nature into wearable art.

Both Simon and Natalie are enchanted with Enchanted Leaves, and we're glad Simon was figuring out what it takes to do this make project. Another new project for BOoM to play and tinker at? Yes, for sure!


The calm before the fun! Sunday started very gently, but it turned into one of the busiest days we can recall. Robots, supplies, and exhibitors all held up and shined, all day



Flower crown making was popular. Okay... it was insanely popular. This day seemed to bring out the couples, and we loved seeing their collaborations, and enthusiasm. It's fun when you meet fellow makers, appreciating that they are getting a chance to explore the Faire, too.

We wish we had a picture of every crown and maker. Everyone seemed to be aglow, radiating their Maker happiness.

Each new visitor inspired us more, and more. We would love to bring this hands-on exhibit back, next year.

Hello, Patrick!

So many friends came by, and we wanted to stop and talk, and hang out with each of them... but wow! We had our hands full. We hope everyone had a great time.

Just three days off the router, Alex's latest shield had a lot of admirers. Here he is showing where the hammered bosse will go, when the shield is finished. He worked his art into Autocad, before G-coding it into Mastercam, so it could be cut on our router. Next... a lot of sanding, then painting. Those are day and night bats, with rose-thorn Celtic rings between.

For several hours Maria and Natalie went through a flower crown making rush... it was wild. By the end we were down to twigs, scraps, bits, and pieces. Happily, we managed to eek out enough supplies for three more visitors to make crowns. They were so humbly thankful, and creative... once again, we felt the connection and inspiration that makes Maker Faire great.

Friends, and can-do energy... it's what we love about Maker Faire.

Sharing what we love is what brings us back for more, and leaves us thinking about next time.

We didn't get a picture of every visitor and flower crown, but these are a few of the beautiful makers who shared their time with us. Thank you, everyone, that was part of making this, another, wonderful Maker Faire.