Europe’s largest gathering of Makers
27 – 28 April 2013
Makers of all ages and from all disciplines are invited to share their offbeat inventions at the official UK Maker Faire to be held at the Centre for Life, Newcastle 27-28 April 2013. Attendees can expect a weekend of robots; hands-on making; the occasional fireball and lots more.
The weekend is a celebration of making and the world’s largest ‘show and tell’ with hundreds of engineers, artists, DIY-ers and inventors presenting their intriguing projects to thousands of visitors. The weekend also features installations, live performances and drop-in workshops with visitors having the chance to make their own inspired creations to take home.
Originating in the US, a UK-version was launched in Newcastle in 2009 and has grown in popularity ever since. The last Maker Faire, in 2011, attracted 300 makers and 10,000 weekend visitors. Past highlights have included a gigantic fire-breathing dragon, a Rubik’s cube-solving robot and an electrifying performance by Arc Attack – original creators of the musical tesla coil.
Marissa Buckingham, Festival Manager at the Centre for Life, said: “Next year’s UK Maker Faire looks set to be the best yet. We’ve already had some exciting project proposals submitted and are looking forward to receiving many more in the coming weeks.”
She added: “Maker Faire is a festival like no other. The atmosphere is electric and the projects, and makers themselves, are inspiring. With open-source technologies and the wealth of sharing and learning on the internet, anyone can become a maker. That’s one of the reasons why we encourage project proposals from all disciplines and from all ages.”
The festival is a great place to show student projects, professional work or projects made just for fun in the garden shed. Anyone interested in finding out more, should visit www.MakerFaireUK.com where there are videos from previous events and contact details for previous makers.
Linda Conlon, Chief Executive of the Centre for Life, said: “Maker Faire is imaginative, creative and fun. Its also a unique opportunity for creative individuals and organisations to showcase their projects and products to an anticipated audience of 10,000 people. Ideas that get visitors involved are always popular, last year’s Faire saw Makers teaching visitors everything from soldering to making short stop-motion animations.”
The previous three UK Maker Faires have been held in Newcastle, unearthing a whole host of regional talent – not surprising given that innovation has always been part of Newcastle’s culture. Famous inventors such as Charles Parsons, William Armstrong, George Stephenson and Joseph Swan have all lived or worked in the city and today it continues to inspire inventors, artists and scientists alike. Jonathan Ive, designer of the iPod studied at Northumbria University, (then Newcastle Polytechnic), and scientists from Newcastle University, based at the Centre for Life, were the first in the world to successfully clone a human embryo.
Maker Faire UK is presented by O’Reilly Media and Centre for Life with support from Northumbria University and Newcastle University, Newcastle Gateshead Initiative and the Wellcome Trust.
For more info, see www.MakerFaireUK.com
To view video footage of previous Maker Faires, see vimeo.com/23258452
