Thursday, September 15, 2011

New York Hall of Science Hosts 'Maker Faire'


ORBIT 3 Kinetic Scuplture by Carl Pisaturo at Maker Faire 2008

The Museum of Interesting Things Will Highlight Festival Celebrating Inventions and Inventors

Maker Faire, a premier event celebrating grassroots American innovation, will be held at the New York Hall of Science on September 17, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m, and September 18, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The popular festival, which was first held back in April of 2006 at the San Mateo Fairgrounds, will feature inventions and inventors from all over the country. Michigan, New York, North Carolina and Texas have all served as host states for the festival.

In 2009, Maker Faire gained an international following after one of the festivals was conducted in Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. A partnership between Maker Faire and the Newcastle ScienceFest helped launch the event in the United Kingdom.

One of highlights of this weekend's event will be The Museum of Interesting Things (TMIT), www.Museumthings.org.

Denny Daniel, the museum's curator and founder, was quite candid when providing an explanation for his creation, which has been praised by historians and antique experts.


"The modern world is a fast-paced, technologically-driven society that sets its sights toward the future. Many children have MP3 players, video game systems and cell phones, but they have no idea of the origins of what they consider everyday, ordinary devices," said Daniel.

"Learning the history of an idea or invention from a book or a web page is only one step in exploring the past. The Museum of Interesting Things is a traveling, staffed museum that provides adults and children the opportunity to see and touch real antique items in operation."

Maker Faire produced the following video on Daniel and TMIT in order to give the public a sense of what they can expect at this weekend's Queens-based festival.


Maker Faire's website, http://makerfaire.com/, states, "As the world's largest do-it-yourself festival, this two-day, family-friendly spectacular has something for everyone - a showcase of invention, creativity and resourcefulness and a celebration of the 'maker' mindset."

Ticket price information and travel directions are available at http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1784823455/efblike.

Photo source: Michel DeschĂȘnes

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