Maker Faire® Milwaukee – the “Greatest Show (& Tell) on Earth” – Announces its Event Schedule for Sept. 23 and 24 at Wisconsin State Fair Park

MILWAUKEE, WI – (Sept. 19, 2017) The Betty Brinn Children’s Museum and Milwaukee Makerspace, co-hosts of Maker Faire^® Milwaukee, are gearing up for their 4^th annual event at Wisconsin State Fair Park. The Faire is locally produced and funded under a license from Maker Media, Inc., publisher of MAKE: Magazine and creator of the international Maker Faire^® program. Maker Faire Milwaukee is free and open to the public on Saturday, Sept. 23 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sunday, Sept. 24 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Parking at Wisconsin State Faire Park is $6 per vehicle. Pre-registration is encouraged, ticket information can be found at milwaukee.makerfaire.com/tickets/.

To view Maker Faire Milwaukee’s full schedule of events, visit milwaukee.makerfaire.com/schedule/.

Event highlights include:

• Largest Gathering of Dalek’s Guinness World Records Attempt:  Attendees can participate in a Dalek costume workshop on Sept. 23 from 11a.m.-1 p.m., followed by an attempt to break the world record at 2 p.m. organized by Dalek Asylum Milwaukee.
• The Power Racing Series: The Power Racing series is a racing competition where teams buy or build a kids’ electric ride on vehicle and modify it to go as fast as it can. Qualifiers will be held on Sept. 23 at 11 a.m., followed by the Moxie Competition at noon, Heat One Race at 3 p.m. and Heat Two Race at 4:30 p.m. An Endurance Race will be held on Sept. 24, from 1-3 p.m., which includes a visit by the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile and a Hotdoggers Team Appearance at 1 p.m.
• Camera Obscura: Attendees can step inside the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum’s Camera Obscura, a project supported in part by the City of Milwaukee Arts Board with additional support from the Wisconsin Arts Board, to develop modern-day tintype photos in less than 10 minutes. Demonstrations will take place on Sept. 23 and 24 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 3-5 p.m.
• Tesla Coil and High Voltage: The Tesla Coil and High Voltage will conduct a series of demonstrations with experimental, high voltage devices on Sept. 23 at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., and on Sept. 24 at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Coin Shrinker demonstrations will be held on Sept. 23 at 11:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. and on Sept. 24 at 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
• Nightcloud Laser & Lighting: Nightcloud Laser & Lighting shows, featuring specialty optics and laser technologies, will be presented on Sept. 23 at 4 p.m. and Sept. 24 at 2 p.m.
• IMADE3D – Home of the JellyBOX 3D Printer: IMADE3D will provide demonstrations on how to make your own 3D printer and how to best use them to create high quality prints in just one day on Sept. 23 at 4:30 p.m. and Sept. 24 at 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m.
• Close Encounters of the Chemical Kind Science Show: Families can enjoy a fun science show on Sept. 23 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
• To Err is Divine – Learning to Learn and the Freedom to Fail: Special guest speaker Chad Lawson will discuss the three keys to embracing the Maker lifestyle on Sept. 24 at 11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
• Taste of Home: Join Taste of Home for their Make it Sweet with Taste of Home crafts, cooking activities and demonstrations on Sept. 24 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
• Notre Dame Robotic Football: Robotic Football, a unique club where students test their engineering skills by designing, building, and programming robots to compete in games against other colleges, will host demonstrations on Sept. 24 at 1:30 p.m.

Ongoing maker workshops include:

• Nerdy Derby: Nerdy Derby is a hands-on building activity sponsored by Kohl’s that invites guests to assemble and decorate a small wooden car, then test it on mini racing tracks. A $2 workshop fee applies.
• Be A Maker: Craft Lab: The Craft Lab is an open making space for makers of all ages with make-and-take activities as well as collaborative projects. A $5 workshop fee applies.
• Be A Maker: Rocketeer: Visitors are invited to make a prototype foam rocket and test them on a DIY pump launch pad. A $2 materials fee applies.
• Swap-O-Rama-Rama: Swap-O-Rama-Rama is a do-it-yourself workshop area with sewing equipment and supplies for creative reuse of clothing and other materials. A $5 per person daily workshop fee provides unlimited access.
• Build-a-Blinkie: Guests are invited to participate in a traveling soldering workshop. Soldering materials and tools will be provided along with facilitated workshops from booth educators.
• 4H Milwaukee County: 4H will offer dozens of hands-on, educational programs and workshops.
• Who Needs Corn Maze: The Who Needs Corn Maze is a design and build challenge for young makers, using cardboard, basic connection methods and simple tools.

About the Betty Brinn Children’s Museum

The Betty Brinn Children’s Museum serves more than 240,000 people annually and produces Maker Faire Milwaukee as part of its Maker Initiative. The Initiative was established in 2013 and expands the organization’s core “learning by doing” mission to the larger community through year-round maker programs at the Museum, outreach and other activities. The Maker Initiative represents a critical investment in education, and in Milwaukee’s long-term economic and workforce development.

Our Maker Initiative includes:

• An 800-square foot Be A Maker Space that offers daily open making for Museum visitors, workshops and events;
• Maker field trip programs that meet national academic standards and developmental milestones for early learners and community partnerships that bring maker programs to high-needs communities;
• Maker Faire Milwaukee, which attracted more than 200 exhibitors and 45,000 attendees in 2016;
• Year-round professional development programs for educators and a Making in Education Community of Practice (COP), a free networking and professional development group that meets regularly to share resources, information, demonstrations and training to support maker educators and their school communities;
• Grants and collaborations that are helping area schools, libraries and other learning environments establish their own makerspaces. The Betty Brinn Children’s Museum became a Google Making Spaces Hub institution in 2017 and will begin working with up to ten area organizations this fall to help them to fund, establish and manage new educational makerspaces;
• Education research, including two outcomes studies of maker field trip programs conducted in partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Marquette University; and
• local, regional and national advocacy about the impact of the Maker Movement on education, workforce training and economic development.

In addition to the Museum’s involvement in the Making Spaces program, which is a national partnership between Google, Maker Ed and the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh (CMP), Museum staff are active members of the Global Maker Faire Producers Group, the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) and the Association of Children’s Museums (ACM), and have partnered with the federal Department of Education, the Institute for Museum and Library Services and the New York Hall of Science to develop and deliver maker-educator training programs in our community.

About Milwaukee Makerspace

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 Maker Faire

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

Maker Faire celebrated 191 Faires in 2016 in 38 countries, reaching 1.45 million people around the world. The 12th annual Maker Faire Bay Area, completed in May 2017, welcomed some 1,200 Makers and 125,000 attendees.

Located in San Francisco, California, Maker Media has been widely credited with jumpstarting the worldwide Maker Movement, which has been a transforming force in innovation, culture, and education. In addition to publishing Make: magazine and producing Maker Faire, Maker Media develops “getting started” kits and books it sells through its Maker Shed store as well as other retail channels.

Find a Maker Faire near you at makerfaire.com/map. More information about Maker Faire can be found at makerfaire.com.

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. 

Maker Faire Milwaukee 2017 Sponsors
Maker Faire Milwaukee 2017 sponsors include: Silversmith: Rockwell Automation; Field Trip Friday: Harley-Davidson Foundation; Nerdy Derby: Kohl’s; Coppersmith: Brady Corporation, GE Healthcare, ManpowerGroup, and Weld Specialty Gas & Equipment Company and Miller Electric; and Blacksmith: Briggs & Stratton, Dohmen Company, Marquette University, National Mango Board, PPG, SeeMeCNC, Taste of Home, and Tormach Inc.

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.

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