In an earlier entry I wrote about the upcoming (now running) Maker Faire in San Mateo. Yesterday, my daughter and I had the chance to visit and had a great time. There were sections on crafts, robotics, machine shop, electronics, aliens/occult, vehicles, disgusting spectacles, and all sorts of events (my favorite was the power tool drag races where we saw a metal grinder reach a speed of 19mph.)

My daughter loved, not liked, loved the robotic giraffe which had touch sensitive sensors on it’s nose and snout so that when pet, the giraffe would talk to you and tell you how much it liked being pet. See the image below of the giraffe in action at Burning Man:



This is a little better shot from last year’s Maker Faire – but the sensors aren’t present on this version of the ‘bot:

A distant second place to the giraffe were the hands-on projects where kids can make rainbow glasses, magnetic critters, and perform their own stop frame animation using clay and vegetables (you have to see it to believe it…) Other interesting bits included a monorail for transporting dogs, a Rube Goldberg inspired 12 ton mouse trap, “fire” engines (actually bleching fire from their hoses,) and of course, the giant hand that picked its nose powered by a human hamster wheel. This entry wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the robot fighting (we watched Texas Heat and another ‘bot who’s name escapes me) go at it for the full 3 minutes. Texas Heat shoots a 6 foot flame at opponents which garnered hoots and hollers. The bicycle carousel on the midway was also a fun distraction.

If you’re reading this on the day of publication (May 20) and you’re in the Bay Area, go check it out. Fun can be had by kids of all ages.

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