Correction: The original version of this story omitted the location of the Albuquerque Mini Makers Faire.
Build and launch your own rocket, see a medieval siege weapon in action, learn to solder and witness a giant remote-controlled robotic face — all in one weekend.
The third annual Albuquerque Mini Maker Faire will be held Sept. 13-14 at the Albuquerque Balloon Museum to showcase regular people from around the state who take pride in building things themselves, said event organizer Charel Morris.
The event is a celebration of the growing do-it-yourself movement, where “makers” show off their creations and attendees are invited to get their hands dirty learning new skills and experimenting with new tools, she said.
“I realized that with the Maker Faire, if we did it right, people would be excited about finding and reconnecting with that part of themselves that says, ‘yeah, you are creative. You have it within you to make things and do things yourself,’” Morris said. “It reawakens that part of who we are as humans, and I think that’s key.”
Nearly 100 makers will have booths dedicated to their unique skills and hobbies, ranging from electronics and technology to homemade skin products and self-published comic books. Last year’s event even featured a goat that people could learn to milk, followed by a demo on how to make goat cheese, she said.
“The only limit is someone’s imagination,” Morris said. “If you get people excited and passionate about things, that imagination just expands.”
A team of UNM architecture students, led by Matthew Gines, Fabrication Lab director, will demonstrate 3D printing techniques at the event, and attendees will get a chance to have their own designs turned into 3D plastic models, Morris said.
A key difference between the Maker Faire and other technology trade shows is that attendees are encouraged to get involved instead of simply marvel at other people’s inventions, Morris said.
Quelab, a dedicated DIY space in Albuquerque that offers access to tools that anyone can use, will have a tent where volunteers will be teaching people how to use soldering irons, she said.
Walter Duran, president of Quelab, said he is excited to expose more people to the joys of building things themselves.
“It’s really great to have a time where we just celebrate making,” Duran said. “It’s just a big show-and-tell moment for the maker movement, and I hope it will really spread some consciousness of what we’re doing.”
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Quelab’s tent will also feature a 3D carving tool, as well as a 3D printer — both tools that are available to the public at their permanent lab space, he said.
The Maker Faire started in San Francisco ten years ago, as an offshoot of the DIY magazine “Make.” Morris, who has organized tech trade shows and conferences for years, heard about it and decided to bring it to Albuquerque in 2010, she said.
“It’s an enormous amount of work, and it definitely doesn’t pay what the other conferences I did pay, but none of that really matters at this point,” she said. “Albuquerque and New Mexico is an amazing place, and it’s just what I need to do right now.”
The maker movement is a reaction against the corporate, consumer culture of our times that encourages people to buy everything they need and discard broken items, she said.
“As humans, we really like making things. That’s part of our DNA, and it’s sort of been buried by our modern culture in a way, but you can get that passion back,” she said.
Duran agrees and said he hopes the Maker Faire will encourage more people to try their hands at repairing things around the house, and inspire them to find new hobbies and new ways to be creative.
Duran said Quelab is a hub of a quickly growing maker community in Albuquerque that brings together people from all walks of life in their love of creating things.
“The really great thing about our maker community is that it is entirely grassroots, we are entirely self-funded and volunteer-run. The Albuquerque makers are enthusiasts of all sorts: artists, hackers, hippies, Burning Man-types,” he said. “All sorts of people with all kinds of backgrounds coming together and making it happen.”
Jonathan Baca is a news editor of the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @dailylobo.
