Maker Faire Detroit coming to The Henry Ford

Maker Faire Detroit logo from MakerFaire.com

For the few who haven't heard, Maker Faire is coming to the Detroit Metro Area from July 31^st through August 1^st at The Henry Ford in Dearborn.

Maker Faire is brought to you by Maker Media, publishers of Make: and Craft: magazines as well as other projects. It's been extremely popular in other big cities and this year they're coming to Detroit.

Why? Because Detroit has large, organized groups of both independent craftspeople and people who love science and technology. We also have a large population that's interested in eco-friendly ideas, like sustainable living, urban farming, and alternative energy vehicles. All of that and more is what the Maker Faire is all about. In fact, that's why there's been a MiniMaker Faire in Ann Arbor for the past two years. To get a good idea of the types of things available at the Maker Faire, you can read this coverage of the 2009 MiniMaker Faire, and if you're worried that the Maker Faire is going to be all robots and no crafts, check out the post on craftzine about some of the neat stuff they had going on at the MiniMaker Faire for 2010.

The Maker Faire is a great opportunity because it gives tinkerers, craftspeople, and idea people the ability to network, work on projects, and share ideas. It also helps them share those ideas with the public in some very interesting ways.

This year at Maker Faire Detroit, you can expect to see some really neat things. Like what? Like the folks at i3Detroit, who love to tinker. One of them is bringing a skeeball machine powered by Arduino compatibles. You'll also see a Hack A Race Track, The Life-Size Mousetrap, and Coke Zero and Mento's Fountain shows, along with a jumbo version of everyone's childhood favorite, the Etch-a-Sketch.

If you're worried that there won't be enough crafting going on, you might be glad to know that Crafting with TNNA (The National NeedleArts Association) is scheduled and the folks from Handmade Detroit are certainly going to be there, too.

In fact, so much is going to be there, you might want to buy a ticket for the whole weekend because you're never going to be able to see everything in one day, and if you're interested in any of the things Maker Faire covers, there's no better opportunity to meet local people to network with. They've been gearing up for Maker Faire Detroit for months just to talk to people like you.