What's Happening -- Weekend Edition

 It's the weekend in Austin and here's What's Happening...Saturday morning, Little Diva and I will be at the Color Run. If you've never participated, it's like a neon-colored party and a 5K all-in-one! Check out the details here.

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Maker Faire will be sharing their creative fun at the Palmer Center. I previewed this cool event earlier this Spring but last week I was able to interview the festival producer, Kami Wilt. Her answers made me even more excited to attend!

1. What excites you most about MakerFaire?

 What excites me most about Maker Faire is how dynamic, deeply engaging, and surprising it is.  I don't know anywhere else where you could see  a 30 foot tall robot that shoots fire, spend an hour weaving, watch someone cast swords out of molten aluminum, dance to a zombie marching band, and/ or participate in an endless assortment of Making-related activities and demos and spectacles.  

2. How do you feel this interacts with the focus on STEM in school?

I think this is an amazing STE(Arts)M experience, that really ignites kid's interest in STEAM, because they get to try so many things.  You will see kids deeply absorbed in learning to solder, in watching high school robotics teams, in building a homebrew aircraft, painting a giant collaborative mural, tying knots with boy scouts, using power drills to build mini race cars, and so much more.  Because there is such an endless variety of activities to dip into , kids (and adults!) will find whatever excites and delights them the most.   This creates an organic, intense, and unextinguishable interest in STEAM-related fields.

3. What is your hope for both participants and attendees? (e.g. experience, opportunity)

My hope is that visitors will leave inspired... maybe with a new skill that they've learned that they're excited to develop, maybe having discovered some new aspect of Making to explore (fabric collage, 3D printing, homebrew aircraft).  We often say "Everyone's A Maker"... so the dream is that everyone will leave having gotten in touch with their inner Maker, and with an impetus to continue Making, building, creating, crafting, and inventing in the year to come. 

Pretty cool, right?

Saturday, May 7 and Sunday, May 8, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

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That's what's happening. Enjoy a beautiful May weekend in this beautiful city!