Maker Faire – the biggest show and tell in the world!

What is a Maker Faire?

A Maker Faire is pretty much a festival that showcases all of the amazing things people have built throughout the years. Its main purpose is to persuade others to create amazing things as well. The biggest one – called the World’s Maker Faire – is held in NYC, which is the one I attended this year. (PS – there are other Maker Faires that take place all around the world. Click here to see if there are any Maker Faires happening near you in the future.)

I am all about tech and gadgets, so I was beyond excited to attend. And I am so glad that I did.

Sooo on to the cool stuff – Below is a list of the coolest gadgets/technologies I saw at the Maker Faire this year.

Walabot

Walabot is a device that can detect objects that are behind a wall or a concrete surface. What makes it unique is that it’s a DIY device – you can even create games using the device (using the programming languages Python or C++).

So if you ever wanted to create “air drums” that actually make a sound, then Walabot is the device you need.

Bloomengine: A Plant Vase That Waters Your Plants For You And Keeps Track of Its Wellbeing

As soon as I saw this, I immediately thought that it looked like the enchanted rose dome case in Beauty and the Beast.

However, it’s more like a technically advanced kind of rose dome case. This product right here actually keeps tracks of the plants in your home. All what you need is a smartphone and the app to monitor it. It also provides light that mimics natural sunlight and provides an outdoor environment that a plant can’t get indoors. So it’s kind of like a smart flower pot.

Doodlematic – you draw the game using paper and markers, then play it on a tablet

Now this one really wow’ed me. It’s mainly advertised for kids but shoo, I almost bought one for my 24 year old self! You pretty much create a game by first drawing it out, and then integrating it into your iPad. Then you get to play the actual “drawing”. No programming experience needed 😉

Pallete 2 – A 3D printer that prints in multiple materials AT THE SAME TIME

If you didn’t know, most 3D printers now a days only print in one color at once – or at least the ones I’ve ran into. From what I understood, you print something out and then you would have to paint over it – kind of like a sculpture. Well, the Palette 2 was a game changer for me. Not only does it print in multiple colors, but it also prints in multiple material. The items above were printed in one go through the 3D Printer.

Cocoa Press: A DIY Chocolate 3D printer

This 3D Printer allows you to make sculpted chocolate candy. So now, you can have chocolate whenever you want! I’m 100% here for 3D food printing.

Misty Robot – A personal robot that teaches you how to code

Think this robot is scary looking? Well, you can actually code a program to make it change facial expressions.

The way it works – you attach the robot to your computer. You code something on your computer using a very easy interface (similar to Scratch). Then once you run the program, the robot executes what you coded. So lets say you create a program called Change Facial Expressions. Well, once you run it, the robot would change its expression to whatever facial expression you tell it to change to.

Craft and Sprout Tiny Home – a tiny, mobile home

The concept of mobile tiny homes always fascinates me. I always saw them on TV but to actually walk inside of one was interesting. I expected it to be more cramp, but as you can see – many people could fit into one at a time. According to the sign outside, this house was only 300 square feet.

Bio Bus – a moving biology lab on a bus

The Bio Bus is an actual lab that helps minority, female, and low income students in New York City discover science. It’s a cool alternative to working in a classroom.

Hand of man

The hand of man is a large sculpture that is able to pick up cars and then drop them. Just like its name implies, it picks up the car sculpture with a sculpture that’s shaped like a human hand. Now you may be thinking “sooo it’s like a tow truck? What makes it so special?”

Well instead of controlling it using sticks, you actually place your real human hand into a controller and use your own movements to lift, crush, and toss huge objects.

Apparently its been around for a decade now, making its debut in 2008. However this was my first time seeing it in action.

Tapigami

And last but not least – Tapigami. Everything you see in this picture was made from tape. Can you believe that? It must have taken years to build, knowing how sticky and annoying tape can be. I also wonder the motivation behind this, but didn’t get a chance to ask.