Pete Prodoehl, Author at Maker Faire Milwaukee

We’ve got over 50 Makers ready for Maker Faire Milwaukee, and the applications keep coming in. (We’re approving them on a rolling schedule, so if you haven’t been approved yet, don’t worry!) Browse through the list of Makers and Exhibits for a sneak peek at this year’s event.

Our Call for Makers closes in August, and we usually see a big rush at the end, but why wait? If you’ve got something to share, apply now!

Maybe you’ve been working on a new project for this year, and it’s not quite done. No worries, sign up and bring whatever you’ve got. Share it with others, help inspire future Makers, and show off your hard work.

Maker Faire Milwaukee is co-hosted by Betty Brinn Children’s Museum and Milwaukee Makerspace. You might be familiar with Betty Brinn (especially if you’ve got young children) but if you don’t know much about Milwaukee Makerpace, check out this article in latest issues of M Magazine – Making Their Mark.

Carl (one of the Maker Faire Producers) is featured on the cover, and in the article. There’s a good write-up of the tiny house he built, which you may have seen at Maker Faire Milwaukee in 2015. Besides a great profile of the space and a few members, we’re particularly excited about the mention of the Dalek Asylum and our joint effort to break the world record for the largest gathering of Daleks.

If you can’t wait until September to learn more about Milwaukee Makerspace, they have open hours every Tuesday at 7pm (except holidays) where you can take a tour and talk to some members about what they make.

WITNESS A GUINNESS WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT AT THE FAIRE! EVEN BETTER, BE PART OF THE TEAM.

Dalek Asylum Milwaukee will attempt the world’s largest gathering of Daleks at Maker Faire Milwaukee, and is drafting a Dalek Dream Team to make it happen. Classic construction, cardboard, Dalek costumes….anything goes, as long as costumes and other entries are “complete and clearly recognizable as the character or costume designated for the record set out in the specific guidelines, at the discretion of independent witnesses and the Guinness World Records organization. Any entry deemed unsuitable will be disqualified from the final total.”

Let’s do the math: Dalek Asylum Milwaukee currently has 22 entries lined up, and needs another 78 to break the record. There is a rather harsh rule about disqualifying the entire attempt(!) if 10% of the total number of entries are disqualified as incorrect or incomplete, or if costumes are removed during the attempt. So, let’s beef up the entries for good measure and the inevitable disqualifications.

For some background on the idea and Dalek Asylum Milwaukee, check out this article from Milwaukee Record: Dalek Asylum Milwaukee assembles record-exterminating army of ‘Doctor Who’ villains.

If you’re in, let us know at daleks@makerfairemilwaukee.com We’ll share the complete Guinness World Records rules and keep you posted on the Dalek Dream Team and plans for scheduling the attempt during the Faire on Saturday, September 23, 2017 in Expo Hall A.

Did you know that our Call for Makers is open? Yes, our Call for Makers is open, and we’re looking for people willing to share their love of making with others. Besides showing off your work you might get inspired and inspire others to create new things, learn new skills, or just connect with other creative and passionate people.

We’ve got our first twenty makers accepted and more are rolling in each day. We’re expecting at least 200 makers this year, so if you’re thinking of applying, don’t delay! The Call for Makers closes on August 1st, 2017!

The BizTimes talked about us recently: Maker Faire Milwaukee promotes stem in family fun event, and offered an overview from Maker Faire Producer Carrie Wettstein:

“The impact of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) has been shown in classroom after classroom,” she noted. “Students are motivated to learn on their own, to problem-solve and to be collaborative and creative. The museum and the Faire are helping to develop skills in students for the jobs of the future.”

Betty Brinn Children’s Museum along with Milwaukee Makerspace are excited to be going into our fourth year of bringing STEAM experiences to the community. Once again Maker Faire Milwaukee will be a free event and welcome thousands of people throughout the weekend to the Wisconsin State Fair Grounds on September 23rd and 24th, 2017.

“The maker movement encourages learning by doing, sharing and collaboration, self-motivation and experimentation,” Wettstein said. “In addition to work being done by Milwaukee Makerspace, Betty Brinn Children’s Museum and our other collaborative partners, the Maker Faire promotes that experience in the form of a fun, family-friendly event for people of all ages.”

You can also find the article in the latest edition of WisconsinBiz 2017.

We’ve been lucky to have The Milwaukee Tesla Coil Builders bring their crazy contraptions to Maker Faire Milwaukee and put on an amazing show (you may remember Knight versus Tesla Coil from 2015.) Well, we were not disappointed in 2016, as they were back with an even better show, including a Faraday cage that people could stand inside while the Tesla coils did their thing.

Plans are in the works to have The Milwaukee Tesla Coil Builders return again in 2017… Who knows what they’ll come up with this year!?

Hello Makers! The time is now! The Call for Makers is open and we are accepting applications!

We want YOU to share what you make at Maker Faire Milwaukee. Show off your skills, share your knowledge, inspire others. You already know that Maker Faire is the Greatest Show (& Tell) on Earth, but the only thing that could make it better is having you join us. The Call for Makers will be closing on August 1st, 2017 so don’t wait… apply now!

Did you happen to see Hand Of Man at Maker Faire Milwaukee in 2016? Hand Of Man is a 26-foot long hydraulically-actuated human hand and forearm which is capable of picking up and crushing cars, and a glove device that controls it. Visitors were able to operate the hand and pick up (and drop) cars during the Faire.

We’re busy gearing up for 2017, but wanted to share this great video that shows some of the action from last year. Enjoy!

If you attended Maker Faire Milwaukee in 2016 you may have provided us with your zip code. If you wondered why we asked for your zip code, it’s to help us measure the reach of the event, and it’s really interesting to see where people came from, and how far they traveled to get to Milwaukee.

Check out the map above for the results. While the largest concentration of attendees is from Wisconsin (and specifically Southeastern Wisconsin) it’s amazing to see the different parts of the United States that people came from.

The Maker Movement is truly a global phenomenon, and we’re proud to be a Featured Faire, and the largest FREE Maker Faire in the U.S., and we can’t wait to see where 2017 attendees come from.

We’re excited to announce that Maker Faire Milwaukee will be back in 2017, and we’ve even got a date confirmed. Mark your calendars now for September 23 & 24, 2017!

We hope you’ll join us for our fourth year of Maker Faire Milwaukee, and look forward to bringing together makers of all kinds in the spirit of sharing and learning from each other.

If you want to keep up-to-date with announcements about the event, please sign up for our mailing list.