Maker Faire Orlando 2017 - Part 2

Ever since attending the Mini-Maker Faire in Miami this year I have been thoroughly excited for Orlando’s event. There were so many cool projects and people this year and it was awesome being able to see everything that was on display. There were three things that really stood out as I browsed the Faire. Outside of the Workshop I am the president of a robotics club at a local university, and so it should come as no surprise that my favorite things to check out were all the amazing robotics being shown. From FTC builds to Battle Bots, Astro droids to Repair Droids there were all amazing. Two robots in particular that stood out to me were the Renaissance Robotics FTC build and steampunk R2 Droid.

Maker Faire Orlando 2017 - Part 1

Maker faire Orlando was an absolute blast to attend. It was amazing to see all the different forms of creativity that went into what everyone had to show. There were different types of computer builds, circuitry, physics projects, and so many different forms of art. I personally was keeping track of the Powerwheels competition that was held at Maker Faire. Each day of Maker Faire encompassed a different race/event for the Powerwheels competition. The first day of Maker Faire required that all the racers had to do preliminary qualifications, three sprint races, and a moxie lap.

Boca Bearings at Maker Faire Orlando 2015

The crowd was in the thousands at the 4th annual Maker Faire Orlando event held at the Orlando Science Center, Orlando Museum of Art and Loch Haven Park the weekend of September 12-13.

And the Boca Bearing Company was proud to be part of the sponsors and also to participate in the exhibit that featured over 300 'MAKERS' that included anything and everything from robotics, crafts, advanced technology, art, lego, science, music, 3D printing, learning activities and ... cookies.

Simply put, the event was a huge success.

This community-organized Faire celebrated the young and the older who share a passion for creativity and innovation. People who just enjoy showing and displaying what they like to make, what they can make, what can be learned and much more.

It was fascinating, for example, to see how a 10-year-old boy who stopped by the Boca Bearings display station and had the curiosity and knowledge to talk about 'bearings', to say that he likes working with his hands to create different things and that he wants to be an engineer.

Much of the exhibits revolved around technology, the makerspace community, the garage-minded thinkers. There were battles between robots, there was robotic arms, lego fun, laser tag shooting range, video games which were all highly popular.

There was a first for a Maker Faire with a super fun KrazyKart racing outdoors. Talk about some fun and a little competition.

Students showed projects how to make promotional products, videos and photos. Kids had the opportunity to play with an Arduino-Based interactive game and also there were crafts classes that were very appealing.

The Eureka! Factory featured their Instructable Showcase with hands-on fun and homemade instruments from recyclables.

The NASA Kennedy Space Center had a beautiful display showing the future of space.

Lock Haven Park had food trucks and tents with some makers exhibiting their goodies outdoor.

The Maker Faire in Orlando started in 2012. This exhibition is part of the original Maker Faire that began in San Francisco and now has shows in New York, Atlanta, Detroit, Rome, Paris, Tokyo and many other cities around the world totaling some 120 organized Mini Maker Faires worldwide.