ORLANDO, Fla. – Maker Faire Orlando returns to the Central Florida Expo Center and Fairgrounds on Nov. 13 and 14.
The family-friendly event features art, exhibits, hands-on workshops, and Robot Ruckus, the largest heavyweight combat robot competition outside of the Battle Bots television show.
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“We met a number of these kids when they were 13 or 14 and they would hang around the combat robot arena and we hear from them or their parents that they’re off in aerospace engineering programs or other engineering programs and it’s just really neat to think that we helped inspire in that even in just a little way by having a really fun weekend,” Maker Faire Orlando Founder and Producer Ian Cole said.
“Whatever you’re excited about, whatever interests you, there’s someone there that can help you take that initial spark of interest and turn it into a new hobby,” Cole said, “a new thing to learn, or even potentially a new career.”
Cole says participants can learn to Sauter, make their own T-shirts, and learn to use power tools with “Princesses and Powertools,” run by Reinvented Magazine.
“They actually have a magazine that really works to empower women in stem, and the idea that they can mash up these stereotypes of princesses and yet people who make things and do it together and see all these people interacting and learning to use power tools in such a fun way,” Cole said.
Cole said it’s the makers themselves that make this experience so special.
“Makers, in general, like to not only make things but share how they make things,” he said.
Cole said through the Maker Effect Foundation, teachers and home school educators are eligible for free tickets. They also offer class resources and homeschool programs.
And Cole said if you want to learn more, you can visit MakerFx, a makerspace in South Orlando.
You can buy tickets to Maker Faire Orlando by clicking here.