Maker Faire® Milwaukee Announces Special Field Trip and Educator Programs

MILWAUKEE, WI – (August 2, 2016) Maker Faire^® Milwaukee producers have announced new K-12 education programs as part of this year’s event.

Free Field Trips for Disadvantaged Students

Field Trip Friday will provide 300 eligible students with the opportunity to meet and work with Faire exhibitors on September 23, the day before the event opens to the public. Based on a successful pilot program in 2015, Faire organizers – the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum and Milwaukee Makerspace — and Faire exhibitors from a broad range of fields will offer making opportunities, equipment demonstrations and talks about their work. Participating exhibitors include the NASA STEM outreach program, the American Welding Society, Miller Electric and Weld Specialty, and maker-exhibitors. The program will include all field trip materials and transportation, and each student will receive a free parking pass so that they can return to the Faire with their family on Saturday or Sunday.

Making has become a powerful tool for inspiring students to problem-solve through innovation and creative collaboration. Maker Faires promote making in education, and highlight the capacity of hands-on, project-based learning to motivate students to explore critical STEAM subjects – science, technology, engineering, the arts and math. Field Trip Friday will include students from six schools that have been part of research studies conducted by the Museum in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee that demonstrate the positive impact of Museum maker experiences on a student’s interest in and understanding of STEAM concepts. Field Trip Friday provides a critical opportunity to continue survey and outcomes research to measure understanding, skills and engagement through maker-based learning models.

Field Trip Friday is made possible through the generous support of Maker Faire Milwaukee’s Presenting Sponsor, Brady Corporation.

Professional Development for Classroom Educators

The Betty Brinn Children’s Museum is also offering a Professional Development Program for educators at the Faire, on Saturday, September 24. Up to 100 teachers, school administrators and others in the field may register to attend a special schedule of panel discussions, equipment demonstrations and hands-on workshops, which will be held during Faire hours. Registration information is available at www.makermke.org/education, and schools may be permitted to use Title I funding to pay the $130 program fee.

Program presenters include faculty from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, STEM education consultants, and representatives from established makerspaces and schools who will discuss developing and supporting makerspaces in K-12 schools, classroom management for project-based lessons, addressing literacy and other academic standards through making, and more.

Organizers have registered 30 teachers who represent disadvantaged neighborhoods to participate in the program; all attendees will also have the opportunity to join the Museum’s newly-established Community of Practice for Making in Education, which will provide year-round opportunities for educators to share information, lesson plans and other resources.

Maker Faire Milwaukee

Part science fair, part county fair, past Maker Faire Milwaukee 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! While the official Call for Makers closed on August 1, Faire producers may accept a limited number of exhibitor applications. Please apply through the Call for Makers: www.makerfairemilwaukee.com/makers.

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. is open. The event, sponsored by GE Healthcare, will challenge teams to use provided materials, tools and time to address a real-world problem. Teams of 4 people each or individuals (age 16 years or older) can register online at www.makerfairemilwaukee.com. Teams of two adults and two junior members (ages 12-16) will also be accepted. In 2015, fifteen teams – from area corporations, colleges, universities and high schools — competed.

Now in its third year, Maker Faire Milwaukee is the nation’s largest free Maker Faire and the second largest free Faire in the world. The event is co-hosted by the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum and Milwaukee Makerspace, and sponsored by Brady Corporation. Maker Faire Milwaukee is locally organized and operated under a 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 and workforce 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, the Museum’s maker initiatives include 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 10^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.

Besides the magazine and the faire, Make is:

• a vital online stream of news and projects, makezine.com;
• a retail outlet for kits and books, the Maker Shed;
• a steady stream of fun and instruction via our YouTube channel;
• Make: Projects, a library of projects with step-by-step instructions; and
• a publisher of best-in category titles via Make: Books, including introduction to electronics, Raspberry Pi, 3D printing, Arduino and more.

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Maker Faire Milwaukee 2016 Sponsors
Maker Faire Milwaukee 2016 sponsors include: Presenting: Brady Corporation; Design and Build Challenge: GE Healthcare; Coppersmith: BMO Harris Bank, and Weld Specialty Gas & Equipment Company and Miller Electric; Locksmith: Harley-Davidson; and Blacksmith: Marquette University

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.