World Maker Faire New York

«Oh, dear gawd!» — little geek inside me rejoiced when my partner-​in-​all-​discoveries purchased tickets to World Maker Faire.
As others mentioned, parking is tough — but certainly doable if you willing to walk.
Faire is HUGE! Prepare to walk around, and walk, and walk more!
So much to see, it is coolest thing ever.
Robots of all kinds, entertainment, tinkering tools, artists materials, 3D printers, moving sculptures…
Little robot writing in sand on the asphalt was beyond adorable! And mechanical horse was work of wonder. (I adore steampunk)
Other cool things always go on around the Faire: Mouse trap show, demonstrations, lectures, and so much more!
Lastly, make your way inside actual Hall of Science — best lighting exhibits are there.
(We did not make it to Coke Zero & Mentos show, but we will next time!)

The 2015 Maker Faire held at the Queens Hall of Science just get better and better every year.
Drones were the big thing to watch!
The Giant mouse trap is back this year and is always fun to watch.
There are plenty to see and lot of freebies!
The event is wonderful for kids and adults too. Can’t wait for next year!
Tip: parking is a big problem so go early or take public transportation; but is not so easy.
You can walk from the 7-​train 111^th St. Station which is long or take buses to 108^th St. (Q58 and Q23) and walk just one block.
They need a shuttle.
Food is expensive and just average but not as expensive as a baseball game; AND YOU MAY LEARN SOMETHING!
They do have free bike parking, So ride your bike if you can!
I recommend visiting Sunday because it is less crowded.

Very large. Very crowded. You really have to know what you are looking for to enjoy it do not bring a child unless they can handle a lot of walking. That said there were a lot of cool robots and exhibits but there was too much and the lines were long and there was a lot of junk in with the good stuff. I guess if you study what’s going to be there ahead of time it might be better. Also it was difficult to navigate because it was huge and I suck at map reading. All in a ll it was worth it to go. Bring your own water and food unless you want to pay five bucks for a soda which I did. Fun probably with older kids and teens. Not with a 3 year old.

World Maker Faire was better than I could’ve imagined. From the hundreds of exhibitors to stimulating talks from cool companies to great food, World Maker had it all. Great for kids and adults, you won’t have trouble finding something to do here including lockpicking classes, mentos fountains, abundance of 3D printer making you can do it all. I highly recommend attending this faire next September when it rolls around again, I know I will be.

Wanna geek-​out?
I took my sons to this fair and all three of us had a great time checking out cool gadgets and inventions; meeting interesting and enthusiastic people; and learning to do science-​y stuff (like soldering on circuit boards, Rasberry Pi, Ardunio) and less science-​y stuff (like picking locks, building pinewood derby racecar).
Things for kids (of ALL AGES) and educators.
The location was easy access (on the 7 subway line).
There were TONS of people… that was the only drawback. There were lines everywhere… making it feel like Disney… which is frustrating because you were attempting to do so much in such little time. We didn’t get to do everything we hoped to… but there is always next time. :) Note that many makers highly recommended that we attend the Bay Area Maker Faire next time (4 times as large with many more cool things to see and do.)
Many smaller booths wrapped up early so the 10 – 7 time is more like (10−6ish). On Sunday, many (again, smaller) booths were not set up at 10 am. I can’t blame them because, who would want to be cooped up at a booth when there were so many interesting things to explore!
Tip:Save money and purchase tickets during the early-​bird special ($ 22 for kids weekend pass).
This is a cool movement… my younger son wanted to purchase a ready made drone… I bought him a soldering kit and microcontroller and told him we would learn to build one. :)

the best part of maker faire is learning and seeing new things. the event is good for anyone of any age that likes to see, learn, and make.
3d printing section is a must see

Overcrowded and unorganized lines for some displays. 5 $ hot dogs and 3 $ water is ridiculous. Tickets were $ 35 for adults-​lucky we bought the family 5 pack costing $ 16 per person which is still too expensive for this event. Probably won’t go again to this ‘fair”.

Attended the World Maker Faire NY 2012. expected it to blow my mind with innovative technologies from all over the world. Given the admissions price ($ 30 for single day adult, single day family pack of 5 was $ 12-​$ 14 per person), I expected it to overwhelm me.
In reality, what I saw were a lot of displays that were amateur, redundant, and not that innovative… like crafty stuff I could find at Michael’s or a cool glowing shirt I could spot at a rave. Yes, there were a lot of interesting robotic stuff, but how many 3D printers do you really need on display?
There were many interactive things (the vast majority VERY simple), so great for kids who are easily entertained. I wanted to try out some, but there were kids swarming like bees at each and every booth. They should really have a section more geared for adults, other than the small beer garden.
The mousetrap circus was… I don’t even want to go into it. I left after seeing that. And the 7 train to Manhattan didn’t stop at 111^st station, so we had take a 7 train in the opposite direction to go to the Mets stop.
I’m disappointed in the overall quality of the faire. It felt more like a high school science convention meet cheap vendors than a ground for exploding creativity.

If you’re interested in robotics, electronics, science, crafting, computers, woodworking, or anything else that involves doing things… get thee to Maker Faire, post-​haste.
I’ve been to six such faires so far — two NYC, two in Detroit, one in Toronto and one in Ottawa. The NYC ones were once as an exhibitor, and this past one as «merely» and attendee.
I’d have to say that of all the Faires I’ve attended, the New York ones have been the best. It attracts a lot of the big names in the Maker community — Sparkfun, Makerbot, Chumby Industries, the Arduino team — the list goes on. It’s a slate of rockstars that the other, smaller faires really can’t match. In addition, you’ll find a lot of local people with projects ranging from sustainable agriculture to biodiesel, from home-​built UAVs to lighting displays, and more 3D printers than you probably knew existed. There’s also a couple of excellent speaking tracks — teachers, researchers, inventors, and all sorts of other interesting people.
This is an ideal event for kids and adults alike — you’re bound to find something you’re interested in, and people there eager to help you try it for yourself

September 25 – 26, 2010
Hours: Saturday 10am-​7pm; Sunday 10am-​6pm
Well, now it’s obvious… I’m a geek. OMG, the World Maker Faire was overwhelming! All I can talk about is the small fraction I saw of all the myriad offerings that were there on Sunday. The event describes itself: «A celebration of the DIY mindset and creativity, Maker Faire brings together engineers, artists, crafters, tinkerers and scientists.» Not only could I see the results of boundless resourcefulness, I was invited to participate and to learn firsthand as many things as I could absorb. I always respond favorably to words such as DIY, recycled, sustainable, and handmade, so I was right in my element.
Single-​day adult admission is $ 25 but there are significant saving options for the 2-​day, advance sales, groups, seniors, students and kids. My family of 5 used the Sunday Family Pass for $ 50.
There were corporate sponsors, a total of 515 «maker» exhibits, dozens of seminars running concurrently all day, musical entertainment, rides, loads of items for sale, food vendors, etc. It was an extremely family-​friendly event.
My husband is a maker who 3D-​prints plastic items. He went directly to see his maker-​friends at Makerbot Industries (
). To browse things that can be 3D-​printed see
.
In the Young Makers Area high school kids demonstrated the robots they built from scratch for the FIRST Robotics competition (that’s MY boy!)
At the Steampunk area my Robotics son bought a leather holster designed to fit the Nerf gun he and his Robotics friends are going to mod.
Two books I thought fascinating were «Geek Dad: Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids to Share» and «62 Projects to Make With a Dead Computer.»
The Lion Brand Yarn company gave knitting, crochet and weaving lessons, and had big plans to decorate a rocket with granny squares.
I wanted so much to buy one of jewelry-​artist Anne Arden McDonald’s nature-​inspired silver rings, but she couldn’t find one to fit me. I plan to stop into her Bushwick studio.
From the New York City Master Composters I learned that the major NY newspapers have switched over from lead-​based ink to soy-​based, making newsprint safe for composting.
I was impressed with «The Boxy Lady,» a mobile homeless sleeper/​street kiosk/​vacation cube.
My younger son bought a pair of Marshmallow Shooters, blow guns made from PVC pipe.
While watching the human-​size Mousetrap show that didn’t roll quite right, I recalled the challenge of building a Rube-​Goldberg machine with my younger son for a school project.
I’m seriously thinking about how I might set up a hydroponic herb garden in my house.
Strong, adventurous people had a blast pedaling bicycle-​powered Axegrinder, a guitar windmill and Cyclecide, a 360-​degree ride.
I didn’t see every one of these presenters, but look at these interesting topics! Made by Hand: Searching for Meaning in a Throwaway World; Thirty Minutes of Dangerous Ideas and Dangerous Activities; Sustainable Hacker and Maker Spaces; Revealing the Inner Artist and Innovator; Recycled Food Wrapper Craft Projects; Microscope From A Cell Phone; Squishy Circuits (Conductive Play Dough).
When Maker Faire comes back to NY next year after their stints in SF and Detroit, I’ll be there again.