The biggest US Maker Faires for DIY fans in 2018

In 2006, the first Maker Faire was born in San Mateo, California, and became one of the largest gatherings in the world of all Do It Yourself fans. Created by Dale Dougherty, editor in chief of Make Magazine, this event brings together technophiles, educators, do-it-yourselfers, artists, inventors, students and families. All curious are welcome to discover what today is possible to do in terms of manufacturing, whether with techniques such as carpentry, cooking, DIY but also with technologies such as 3D printing, robotics and virtual reality the US Maker faires have it all. Its founder explains: “In the beginning, when we launched the first Maker Faire in 2006, we wanted to allow the Makers to meet. In these fairs, the most crazy personal initiatives cross the most serious projects. The goal is to get people to get started, to be curious and to learn from others’ projects. “

Since its inception, the event has grown far beyond the US borders as it is found all over the world; in 2017, there were more than 240 Maker Faire in 38 countries. However that same year 110 of them where still held in the US. Here we will focus on the Maker Faires for 2018. All having the aim to encourage the meeting between these makers and a heterogeneous public of curious people to promote creation in general. So we wanted to Highlight the biggest of these in 2018 in the US encouraging the growth of initiative emerging for the future!

First off, the Flagship Maker Faires. They are the biggest of the biggest, held twice a year.

Maker Faire Bay Area

Last year there were 125.000 people attending and over 1.200 Maker entries joining in on the fun in the Bay Area. It continued this year with its 13th edition of the Maker Faire Bay Area back in May. It was full of people, had speakers such as Adam Savage, Grand illusions and sword swallowing by the Traveling Spectacular and workshops covering everything from “Planet builder” to working with Nintendo Labo along with much more.

World Maker Faire New York

The World Maker Faire New York is coming up in September. in 2017 they had 90.000 people exploring and over 750 maker entries. And this year it is on again with the 9th instalment coming up. It will have exciting talks covering topics such as Raspberry Pi and 3D carving as well as performances from RADIO WONDERLAND and much more. So if you want to join in you can still get your tickets for the 22nd and 23rd of September and join in on the fun.

Now we’ll look to the Featured US Maker Faires. A couple worth mentioning that we already past this year is:

Maker Faire Miami

Lets start by mentioning the Miami Faire that was held back in April the 7th and 8th. It had everything from MATRIX lab to jewellery creations and Experience projects being showcased. MDC Maker lab also stopped by and other fascinating happenings went down doing the 5th instalment of this faire.

Maker Faire Austin

As a celebration of good people keeping it weird Austin’s Maker Faire is a good example. It has done so for the 9th year this year, when it was held back in May the 5th and 6th. They covered everything from CAD, 3D Modeling & 3D Printing as a Kids academy to Crochet Jewellery and Knitted Guitars. This as well as having demos on Drones being build and raced, Electronic Circus art performed and Gigabot X had a talk on Pellet Printing Progress with re:3D, all made up a great faire.

Maker Faire Kansas

The 8th Edition of the Maker Faire in Kansas was held about a month ago in June the 23rd and 24th. It had Bouncing balls, Liquid Nitrogen and a stage show showcasing Science in Movies. This along with exhibitors such as 3D Printing Everything, 3D Printed R2-D2 and 3D printer Demos coming up makes it a great event to consider joining in on next time around.

 

If you already now am ready to jump into the Maker world, here are a few US Maker Faires you can still catch in 2018:

Maker Faire Detroit

For the 7th year, this maker faire will be launched on the 28th and 29th of July. Presenting both Demos of Accelerate4KID Youth Hackathon, First power up and Pewabic street team. There’s exciting workshops covering Model Rocketry and Camp Pencil Point. Talks from different people like Iddris Sandu an Innovative Futurist and Anna Croning on behalf of GE is on the schedule. Not to forget different performances on everything from the Power Racing of homemade power wheels (or any electric kids ride on vehicles) pimped to the max against each other or the Dark Universe celebrating the discoveries of the universe narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson himself.

Maker Faire Tulsa

It is Going down in Tulsa on August the 25th. This will be the 6th time Tulsa hosts their Maker Faire. This gathering of curious people will be enjoyed within Central Park Hall at the Expo Square full of exhibitors covering subjects such as DIY book scanning & repair as well as Blurr3D specialised in 3D modeling, rendering & animations using digital manufacturing such as 3D printers, 3D lasers and carving machines. All things worth exploring.

Maker Faire Louisville

A Fascinating place to look into is also the Maker Faire in Louisville on September 15th and 16th. They will be hosting the 6th edition of their Maker Faire and are opening up for both B&K Makerspace, Laser tag, 3D technology and Kyya Chocolate to the people with a sweet tooth. So take a look if this sounds like something for you.

Maker Faire Milwaukee

Call for Makers and explores to come for a full 3 days of Making and discovering the 28th, 29th and 30th of September in Milwaukee. It might not be the biggest of the Faires but it is going on its 5th year and they are ready and opening up for people to dive in. This year everything from Fiber artist to Magformers are joining in to be presented and explored.

Maker Faire San Diego

Looking to San Diego, they will be hosting their 5th edition of their Maker Faire on October the 6th and 7th. This year they are featuring Makers such as Unfolding Humanity, Robolink, Shane Evans and Lindsay & Russell all makers behind some amazing and exciting things worth checking out.

Maker Faire Denver

Another October faire will be in Denver with their 5th edition of the Maker Faire the 12th and 13th. They have lined up various experiences like Engineering your Maker Team, From Idea to Market Place: a talk covering the Steps to Inventing and so much more.

Maker Faire Houston

The 6th edition of Houstons Maker faire will be happening this year the 13th and 14th also in October. Bringing a very family friendly and fun faire to Houstons. It is a setting for people of all ages to come explore and see the fascinating Makers and their innovative show casings sure to inspire the makers in the making.

Maker Faire Atlanta

Also a part of the greatest show & tell is Atlanta that launched their first Maker Faire 8 years ago and will do so again on the 27th and 28th of October with their 8th edition. Previously having introduced people to the basics of laser scanning and 3D printed Mold making, Drones and much more they are sure to bring together a couple of exciting things to explore.

Maker Faire Orlando

Orlando is joining in again this year with their 7th edition of the Maker Faire in November on the 10th and 11th. Again this year they present the Nerdy Deby, have Power Racing as well as the Combat Robots event to check out. This with a mix of hands-on workshops, usually full of people in various costumes to check out and a wide range of exhibitors. You are sure to stay busy and enjoy your days here.

Maker Faire Rochester

We will be rounding the list off with going back to the state of New York, this time in Rochester and their 5th edition of the Maker Faire. This event will go down in November on the 17th. Yet another great faire to explore with invention, creativity and Makers of all shapes and sizes to check out.

Learn more about all of this on the Maker Faire website, here you can find a ton of Mini US Maker Faires, that could be worth taking a look at as well as check out the upcoming US Maker Faires for 2019 that are already now being posted. It’s all about finding your inner maker and start exploring.

Check out some of the 3D highlights from the Bay Area last year:

What do you think of the US Maker Faires, any highlights you want to add? Let us know in a comment below or on our Facebook and Twitter pages! And remember to sign up for our free weekly Newsletter, to get all the latest news in 3D printing send straight to your inbox!