Event news Archives - Maker Faire Milwaukee

Hello Maker Faire Fans! We’ve now got over 200 makers preparing to wow you with their creativity in less than three weeks. More Makers = More Awesome! Browse through the list and we’re sure you’ll find something you like, or a lot of somethings you’ll like. We are currently processing a number of late applications and if you still want to apply, please do. (No guarantees, but if we can fit you in, we’ll do our best.) As always, if you have question, get in touch at info@makerfairemilwaukee.com

For the Makers out there, you should be reading the Maker Manual right now (check your email!) as it contains all the details you need to take part in the Faire, including deadlines, instructions on load-in, participation of helpers, info on selling at the Faire, etc.

For attendees, get your tickets! We just cannot stress this enough. Tickets are free, and they are required to gain entrance to the Faire. You’ll save yourself a lot of time and you’ll be able to skip the long registration lines (and make thing easier for our crew & volunteers) by getting a ticket ahead of time.

We’ve had a few questions about Maker Faire Milwaukee based on the news from Maker Media. We thought we would take a minute to assure you that Maker Faire Milwaukee (September 13-15, 2019) will continue moving forward as planned.

Here are some of the questions we’ve been getting, and the answers to go along with them. If you need further details, please contact us at makers@makerfairemilwaukee.com

Who is Maker Media, and what do they have to do with Maker Faires?

Maker Media published MAKE: magazine and created Maker Faire. They produced two Maker Faire events, San Francisco and New York, and they licensed the name to hundreds of community organizers around the world who produce more than 200 independent Maker Faire events.

In Wisconsin, Milwaukee hosts the largest free attendance Maker Faire held in North America. It’s known as a “Featured Faire” and will celebrate it’s sixth year in 2019. Wisconsin has also had a number of “Mini Maker Faires” in Madison, Elkhorn, Pleasant Prairie, and Sheboygan.

The production teams for these events license the trademarked Maker Faire name from Maker Media. There is brand recognition in the name and in the Maker Movement, and there is a collaboration between the organizations who run them.

Hang on, I still don’t know what a Maker Faire is. Can you explain?

Maker Faire events are an opportunity for curious people who enjoy learning to see what others in the community are working on. It’s a marketplace of ideas and experiments, where makers can show off their passion projects, hobbies, and more.

Maker Faire Milwaukee is a three-day event, and typically sees attendance over 30,000 for the weekend to view the work of over 250 makers and exhibitors.

So the event is going on as planned?

Yes! We’re less than 100 days out from Maker Faire Milwaukee, and our Call for Makers is open, and you can now register and get tickets for the event. (Tickets are free, but there are paid options as well if you wish to help support our mission.)

We love the Maker Media organization and the team that worked there. They helped us get Maker Faire Milwaukee started, and they offered an incredible amount of help and advice to make it a better event year after year.

We need community support more than ever. Now is the perfect time to get involved if you want to continue Maker Faire in your local community.

Who runs Maker Faire Milwaukee?

Maker Faire Milwaukee is produced by Betty Brinn Children’s Museum as part of their Maker Initiatives program. We also collaborate with Milwaukee Makerspace to host the event. We’ve done this for five years, and we’re excited to continue into the sixth year and beyond.

If you’re interested in getting in touch with us or any of the Maker Faire Milwaukee organizers, let us know at info@makerfairemilwaukee.com

How can I help?

Thank you! Tell your friends! Invite your neighbors! Yell from the rooftops! But only during the day, please.

Maker Faire Milwaukee is September 13th, 14th, and 15th. If you want to exhibit, volunteer, or attend, please sign up for future news through our email updates.

Also, we are always looking for sponsors to help support the Faire.

Where to people come from to attend Maker Faire Milwaukee? Where do the Makers travel from to join us and share the things they make?

These are questions we started wondering in 2016, and we did a trial of collecting location information (just their zip code) from attendees and makers so we could find some answers. The test was successful, and revealed some interesting data, so we expanded it and rolled it out in 2017 and did it again in 2018. The map above shows where Makers and attendees traveled from in 2017 and 2018 to take part in Maker Faire Milwaukee.

Here’s a quick “how to” for the live map embedded above. If you touch the icon in the upper left of the map…

You’ll get a sidebar showing the different views you can choose from. (We break it down by year, and separate Makers and attendees. Each year has its own color as well.)

You can turn on and off the views, so you can toggle between the years, and separate Makers from attendees for some interesting data on where people came from. You can also pan and zoom like you can on any Google Map.

As we’ve pulled all this data together, we’ve been amazed at where people have told us they are from. Back when we started in 2015 we never would have imagined people traveling from across the country to take part in Maker Faire Milwaukee. We hope you’ll join us in 2019 to add a few more pins to the map. 🙂

The news is out and we couldn’t be more excited! Maker Faire Milwaukee will be at the Wisconsin Center, 400 W. Wisconsin Ave, in Downtown Milwaukee September 13th through the 15th, 2019. (We’re also thrilled to announce that the Wisconsin Center District is one of our Presenting Sponsors for 2019.)

We will announce details about special programs for students, educators and this year’s Industry, Career & College Exchange soon. Of course, the Faire will also host hands-on workshops, performances, demonstrations and events – and welcomes makers of all ages and interests to exhibit their work at the Greatest Show (& Tell) on Earth.

In the coming weeks (and months) we’ll be telling you all you need to know to show off what you make, join us as a sponsor, and attend the event. First things first, our Call for Makers is open! We need you and the awesome things you make to sign up and join us in showing Milwaukee (and the world) what you create, and how you do it. We’re not much of a show without makers, so don’t wait… the Call for Makers is scheduled to close August 1st, 2019.

Our next Maker Faire Milwaukee Planning Meeting will take place Wednesday, April 11 at 6:30pm at Brinn Labs in Bay View. If you’re interested in finding out more about the Faire, or you’d like to help out this year, please join us!

We’ll have a few updates on this year’s event, and you’ll get to meet other makers and find out what they might have planned for this year.

Brinn Labs is located at 433 E Stewart Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202 (Here’s more info and a map!)

Hard to believe, but true…our 5th Annual Faire is happening September 28-30, 2018!

We are excited to begin planning for this year’s Faire, and our Planning Group Kick Off Meeting is set for Thursday, February 8, 2018 at 6:30 pm. If you’re interested in helping this year, as a volunteer or as a maker, feel free to join us at Brinn Labs (the location for our 2018 meetings) and find out how you can help.

The Planning Group meets monthly, with smaller groups responsible for certain functions meeting separately, as needed. Please attend the Kick Off meeting if you would like to learn more about volunteering before the event, or about other ways you can support Maker Faire. If you are not able to attend the Kick Off Meeting, please contact us at info@makerfairemilwaukee.com with questions and ideas.

Wow, we did it again! And this time we set a World Record!

Let’s have a big round of applause and a huge thanks to all the makers, volunteers, attendees, and Daleks who were able to join us at Maker Faire Milwaukee this year.

This year we had nearly 250 makers and over 100 Daleks join us to make a fantastic Maker Faire!

We hope you had a good time, and that you left the Faire inspired to make something yourself, or to learn a new skill.

From the staff and volunteers at Maker Faire Milwaukee, we thank you for joining us and being a part of this amazing movement.

If you want to be alerted to any maker-related events in the near future, or just want to know about the next Maker Faire before everyone else, sign up for our email list!

Tickets for Maker Faire Milwaukee are now available! Please check out the Tickets & Pre-Registering page for everything you need to know, and most importantly, to get your tickets.

Once again we are proud to present Maker Faire Milwaukee as a FREE event for the community. We’re able to do this with help from our sponsors, but we also provide a few ways for the community to help as well. When you get your tickets, you can choose the free ticket, or choose to pay for a ticket. Any proceeds from ticket sales help to offset the costs of producing the event, and bring amazing things to see and do to Maker Faire.

If you don’t want to pay for a ticket, but still want to support our efforts, you can choose a free ticket, and then donate any amount. It’s our “name-your-own-price” ticket level.

Make sure to check the information on the Directions page (including parking and mass transit) and find out Where to Stay if you’re coming from out of town.

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW so we can see you at Maker Faire Milwaukee on September 23rd & 24th, 2017!

The Power Racing Series is back for 2017! If you’ve never heard of the Power Racing Series, it involves teams building electric vehicles (typically starting with a kid-sized Power Wheels Car) and racing them to glory and the occasional electrical fire. Teams are limited to just $500 to build a working vehicle, which means they need to compromise on quality sometimes. (Don’t worry, brakes and other safety features are not included in the budget.)

We’ve got six teams lined up right now, with over a dozen vehicles, and there’s still time if you want to build your own and race it at Maker Faire. Visit powerracingseries.org to learn more, and then apply to the Call for Makers!

Maker Faire Milwaukee will once again be holding a special program for educators during the event. On Saturday, September 23rd, 2017 from 9am to 4pm we will be hosting the Making in Education Conference, which will highlight educators already featuring making in their classroom, as well as experts from related fields sharing their knowledge about making and how it ties into education.

If you’re an educator who wants to learn about makerspaces, standards-based maker projects, the impact of making on student achievement, the tools and technology needed for a space, as well as other topics, registration is open now.

If you’re an educator who has already added making to their classroom, our Call for Proposals is open, and we’d love to help you share your knowledge and connect with fellow educators.

The Betty Brinn Children’s Museum and Learn Deep will co-host this special program, and we’re grateful to Rockwell Automation for sponsoring the Making in Education Conference.