With the first Maker Faire in 2008, Making has come a long way. Maker Faires have expanded across the globe, with notable ones being located in San Mateo and New York City. As Tim Bajarin from Time Magazine wrote, “At Maker Faires, children get hands-on experience with electronic gadgets, from programming to soldering. Kids can play with robotic kits, try building a drone, and generally tinker with all sorts of gizmos.” Maker Faires allow kids to experience building and creating things that one day may make a difference in the world.
In another article for Time, Bajarin wrote: “I am very excited about the Maker Movement. The more I look into it, the more I believe that it’s very important to America’s future. It has the potential to turn more and more people into makers instead of just consumers, and I know from history that when you give makers the right tools and inspiration, they have the potential to change the world.” With the lowering of costs for tools and software related to the movement, this has allowed Making to grow exponentially.
In Connecticut, we have quite an interest in Making. With Maker Faires located in Hartford, Westport, and The Tri-State, to name a few, Making is taking off here! In Westport, their Maker Faire attracted over 13,000 people last year. The Greater Hartford Maker Faire in 2018 maxed out when it came to makers and had to turn some away! And lastly, The Tri-State Mini Maker Faire is expanding each and every year.
When it comes to Makerspaces, they are growing in Connecticut, too. In Hartford, MakerspaceCT is being built to accommodate 20,000 sq. feet of Makers! Also in Hartford, is MakeHartford, which offers Makers a place to take classes and play with equipment. Lastly, there is a list of MakerSpaces in Connecticut on this website.
Thank you for checking out our website and please remember to register for the Tri-State Mini Maker Faire via the BIG BLUE TICKET BUTTON at the top of this website
For all sources used in this post:
Bajarin, Tim. “Maker Faire: Why the Maker Movement is Important to America’s Future”. Located at: http://time.com/104210/maker-faire-maker-movement/
Bajarin, Tim. “Why ‘Maker Faires’ Are So Important For Our Kids”. Located at: http://time.com/4344680/maker-faires/
Greater Hartford Mini Maker Faire. Located at: https://greaterhartford.makerfaire.com/
MakeHartford. Located at: https://makehartford.wildapricot.org/
MakerspaceCT. Located at: https://makerspacect.com/
Westport Maker Faire. Located at https://westport.makerfaire.com/