This weekend is a major first for me. I’m not talking about my first trip to San Francisco, which has been awesome. I am talking about my first Maker Faire, and I couldn’t be more excited. The anticipation is palpable, and I imagine this is what Charlie Bucket felt like before he passed the gates into the great Wonka Chocolate Factory.
Most GeekDad readers at least know about Maker Faire and what it is all about. For several years now I’ve watched the tweets, reports, and videos from various Maker Faire events and this year I decided that I would watch from the sidelines no longer. So, what am I so excited about?
Innovation – I adore innovation. The innovation seen at Maker Faire is astonishing, and since innovation is contagious I will see the seeds of next year’s great projects.
Creativity – Similar to innovation but distinct. I have never seen myself as being very creative, at least not in the way many of the makers at the Faire can get that spark of inception. I can be innovative but I have trouble being truly creative. Maker Faire is a great place to see this creativity and will give me tons of creative fuel.
Wow – The pure wow factor of the displays. When you have Tesla coils tuned to play music, and that is just one of the items that rates high on the wow-index, I see myself saying “Wow!” a great deal this weekend.
People – In addition to hanging out with other great members of the GeekDad and GeekMom crew, I will be surrounded by people who get it. The “it” being the three factors I mentioned above as well as all of those things that I can’t even put into words.
If you’re going to be at the Bay Area Maker Faire this weekend, come by the GeekDad booth in the Expo Hall. If you won’t be, check out my tweets this weekend and watch for articles after this weekend as I predict I will get plenty of article fodder. Also, the Bay Area Maker Faire isn’t the only Maker Faire, so check out the website to see the other Faires and mini-Faires and try to get to one near you. I know this won’t be the only time I come to the Bay Area event and won’t be the only Maker Faire I attend. This is just a start for me.
I’ve got a Golden Ticket…
