Maker Faire 2009 wraps up in San Mateo, California

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Thursday, June 4, 2009

Make: Technology on your time

The fourth annual Maker Faire took place this past weekend at the San Mateo Fairground in San Mateo, California located in the United States. The first Maker Faire, which took place in 2006, had approximately 20,000 people in attendance. This year, more than 80,000 people were expected to attend; quadruple the attendance of just four years prior. On Saturday night, it was reported that attendance was up considerably over last year's event.

Maker Faire, the self-declared "World's Largest DIY Festival", offers a forum where hundreds of makers and crafters alike man booths where they display their work. In the main halls alone, there were hundreds of booths. Outside the expo halls, the surrounding area was also filled with many interesting projects, some of which were mobile. In addition to all of the projects on display, there were a number of on-stage presentations. The biggest presentation of the weekend was given by Adam Savage who spoke on the topic of his "Colossal Failures". During his talk, the Fiesta Hall was filled to capacity.

The theme for this year's fair was "Remake: America" after President Obama's call to "begin again the work of remaking America". In addition, "going green", alternative fuel vehicles, crafting, steampunk and sciences for the young, were common themes found throughout the fair.

Gallery

Stage A, the main presentation stage.	Just a small portion of the seating in front of Stage A	West entrance to the San Mateo Fairgrounds	Chicken being prepared for the Lunch rush
A Prius that has been modified for plug-in operations.	The Wikimedia Foundation booth.	A wandering performer.	A solar touring bicycle.
Flowering bonsai.	Video Folk Art combined old style camera and digital technology.	A large mobile art installation that was made only of 2 litter bottles.	A 10 thousand year clock
A large mechanical giraffe which wandered the fairgrounds.	An entire town built of legos.	A very colorful vehicle on the fairground.	The "squirrel car".
Adam Savage during his "Colossal Failures" talk.	As with much of the Faire, this statue was interactive.