Maker Faire® Milwaukee Call for Makers opens today

MILWAUKEE, WI – (May 23, 2016) Maker Faire^® Milwaukee producers have opened the event’s Call for Makers. The Call for Makers is a simple, online application for individuals and groups interested in exhibiting at the event on September 24 and 25, 2016. The application can be completed at www.makerfairemilwaukee.com through August 1, 2016.

Maker Faire Milwaukee is a free admission event and non-commercial makers may exhibit free of charge with an accepted application. Commercial makers, who would like to sell their products while demonstrating, are welcome to apply; there is a small fee for Commercial Maker booth space.

Now in its third year, Maker Faire Milwaukee has become one of the largest Featured Faires in the nation and is the world’s largest free Maker Faire. Part science fair, part county fair, past events have showcased blacksmithing; drones; electric vehicles; jewelry making; woodworking; a tiny house; a handmade airplane; model railroading; knitting and weaving; archery; leather work; 3D printing; laser cutting; Tesla coils; student projects (robotics, science clubs, culinary arts, etc.); engineering; electronics; conductive materials projects; Arduino and Raspberry Pi projects; robots; bicycles; costumes; puppets, kites, and other whimsical creations; music performances and participation; food and beverage makers; tinkerers; kit makers; rockets and RC toys; home energy monitoring, sustainability, green tech and alternative energy; recycling; radios, vintage computers and game systems; architecture and shelter (tents, domes, etc.); unusual tools or machines; how to fix things or take them apart (vacuums, clocks, washing machines, etc.); anything new; and anything interesting. If your project is not on this list, apply anyway!

Event producers expect more than 200 exhibitors to participate this year, and are planning for the return of the Power Racing Series and the GE Design and Build Challenge to Milwaukee’s 2016 event. The Maker application includes the opportunity to participate as a presenter, performer, workshop facilitator, or a Power Racing Series contestant. There is no age minimum for exhibitors, speakers or performers; a parent/guardian is required to sign a waiver for participating minors.

Registration for the GE Design and Build Challenge on Saturday, September 24 from noon – 4 p.m. also opens on May 23. The event, sponsored by GE Healthcare, will challenge teams to use provided materials, tools and time to address a real-world problem. Teams of four people each or individuals (age 16 years or older) can register online at www.makerfairemilwaukee.com. In 2015, 15 teams – from area corporations, colleges, universities and high schools — competed.

Maker Faire Milwaukee is co-hosted by the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum and Milwaukee Makerspace, and sponsored by Brady Corporation. The event is locally organized and operated under license from Maker Media, Inc. The aim of Maker Faire Milwaukee is to inspire, inform, connect and grow this community in the spirit of education, community improvement and economic development.

About the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum and Milwaukee Makerspace

Milwaukee’s Betty Brinn Children’s Museum serves 240,000 children and adults annually and provides year-round maker programs in its Be A Maker space, a communal workshop environment that invites visitors to explore a broad range of projects using a variety of materials, tools, digital resources and technologies that encourage children to experiment, learn new skills and share their accomplishments. In addition to the Be A Maker space and Maker Faire Milwaukee, which is independently organized and operated under license from Maker Media, Inc., the Museum’s maker initiative includes MakeShift, a series of maker night for adults, workshops with guest makers and other DIY-inspired events and activities for visitors.

The Milwaukee Makerspace is a 16,000-square-foot collaborative workshop in Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood where members – professionals, hobbyists, artists, crafters and students – share their tools, knowledge and their passion for making.

About Brady Corporation

Brady Corporation is an international manufacturer and marketer of complete solutions that identify and protect people, products and places. Brady’s products help customers increase safety, security, productivity and performance and include high-performance labels, signs, safety devices, printing systems and software. Founded in 1914, the Company has a diverse customer base in electronics, telecommunications, manufacturing, electrical, construction, medical, aerospace and a variety of other industries. Brady is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and as of July 31, 2015, employed approximately 6,400 people in its worldwide businesses. Brady’s fiscal 2015 sales were approximately $1.17 billion. Brady stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BRC. More information is available on the Internet at www.bradycorp.com.

About Maker Faire

Maker Faire is the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth – a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker Movement. It’s a place where people show what they are making, and share what they are learning.

Makers range from tech enthusiasts to crafters to homesteaders to scientists to garage tinkerers. They are of all ages and backgrounds. The aim of Maker Faire is to entertain, inform, connect and grow this community.

The original Maker Faire event was held in San Mateo, CA and will celebrate its 11^th anniversary this year with more than 1,100 makers and 130,000 people in attendance. World Maker Faire New York, the other flagship event, has grown in four years to 600+ makers and 80,000 attendees. Detroit, Kansas City, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Orlando, Silver Spring, Paris, Rome, Oslo, Trondheim, Tokyo, Newcastle (UK), and Shenzhen are the home of larger-scale, “featured” Maker Faires and over 120 community-driven, independently organized Mini Maker Faires are now being produced around the United States and the world.

About Make Magazine

MAKE is the first magazine devoted entirely to Do-It-Yourself (DIY) technology projects. MAKE unites, inspires, informs, and entertains a growing community of resourceful people who undertake amazing projects in their backyards, basements, and garages. MAKE celebrates your right to tweak, hack, and bend any technology to your will. Download a free issue here.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.