What I Learned at Maker Faire Detroit

After attending Maker Faire Detroit at The Henry Ford over the weekend I can tell you this: creativity, ingenuity, and a sense of play are alive and well in Detroit. Children and adults marveled at the interesting inventions, took a spin on some clever contraptions, and dare I say it, learned something.

A few things I learned:

• Smashing objects and tearing things apart can teach you as much as putting things together.

• Kids don’t need carnival rides to thrill them; they thrive on new and interesting ideas.

• Silly is always good.

• Children have no idea what a vinyl record is.

• You can use any fizzy beverage to make the same magic as the Coke Zero & Mentos guys. However, they use Coke Zero because it’s less sticky than the other soda pops. (See video below.)

• You can try their experiment at home, just make sure you use room temperature pop, cold pop won’t shoot as high.

• Everything you attempt doesn’t have to be perfect, just keep putting yourself and your ideas out there.

• Remember to have fun and follow your passion.

Keep inventing, making, tinkering, and doing-it-yourself Detroit! You did our region proud. I’m looking forward to Maker Faire becoming an annual summer tradition in Detroit. 

A bit of a splash from the Coke Zero & Mentos Spectacular.

A clown dances on the car that a 2-ton safe fell on in the Life Size Mouse Trap.

A lttle girl is entralled by the Sashimi Tabernacle Choir Art Car.

Comments

[Wolfger]

Question: What in the world is that last picture of? It looks very interesting.

Food for thought: Would Vernor's, as fizzy as it is, be even better than Coke for a mentos fountain? It would be more Michigan-centric, too. :-)

[Alan Stamm]

Glad you got back in touch with your inner 8-year-old, Becki -- an ideal treat for a summer weekend.

J.M. Barrie (Peter Pan) had it right . . . and this Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up thinks we never should forget the life lesson you wisely listed first.

[Becks Davis]

Wolfger,
The last picture is of a video game that seemed like air hockey meets pong on a touch screen. It was pretty cool but I was too entranced to get more info. I know, bad blogger. ;-)

Vernor's would definitely work! Great suggestion as we head into Buy Michigan Week.

[Chris]

The last picture is from a system that is running Microsoft Surface, their OS with touch-based interaction baked in.

[Alan Stamm]

Wow -- a baked operating system . . . who knew?!

Actually, I knew about cookies . . . so I guess it just stands to reason we can bake in chocolate chips or microchips. Mighty educational, this Maker Faire Detroit.

[Becks Davis]

Thanks Chris!
I was mesmerized by the kids playing that I didn't get the info.

Alan,
Maker Faire wasn't just for kids, it was a great event for all ages. ;-)
Becks

[Jamie Favreau]

Very cool video!

[Becks Davis]

Thanks Jamie! I should have went in the kid zone to get a better view but I didn't want to be THAT GUY! And I didn't want to get sprayed by sticky pop. :D

[becky jolliffe]

I would like a invention that will track my remote control when it gets lost. I always seem to lose my remotes, and I wish there was a quick tracking device where it would beep and I could locate it.

[Denny]

Children and adults both stared at the intriguing creations, tried out some ingenious devices, and, dare I say it, learnt something, according to the blog article "What I Learned at Maker Faire Detroit."

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