I’m a geek. I love Maths and computers. It gives me great pleasure to spend several hours writing computer code or solving Maths problems. Fortuitously I get to teach Maths for a living, so get to spend a lot of time exploring Maths problems to find the best ways to get across concepts to people who have never encountered them before.
I also love making things. I love playing with Lego or building lampshades using dowels and a glue gun. In this though, I’m no expert and so getting to visit Brighton Maker Faire every year is an awesome privilege. I get to chat with Makers from all around the country (and sometimes world) as they share their latest project and talk enthusiastically about how it was made and what is next.
This is the fourth time that Maker Faire has been organised in Brighton. I’ve been to all of them and this was the second time I’ve gone with Big Brother. Last time he was 10 months old, this time he was 12 months older than that. This time he was out of sorts (I think he’s teething) and so tired enough that we could only stay for an hour.
But what an hour! As always we got to see a life size remote control Dalak (what Maker Faire would be complete without that?), 3D printers and the computer museum (A600, Spectrum ZX and BBC micro anyone?). We also heard about and got to play with some conductive paint that can act as a proximity sensor, a hair dryer levitating a pingpong ball and controlled with a wii-mote and a scaletrix track controlled by a raspberry pi whose speed could be controlled with the keyboard. Not to mention the craft, the amateur radio guys, the pacman on a huge sphere, the laser cut wooden Carcassone and Settlers tiles and the models of Iron Man!
I don’t really know how much the boy got out of it but I hope year on year his imagination will be stimulated and he’ll want to be a maker himself. I’m a huge fan of the maker movement and love the thought of making sure our boys are not just mindless consumers but actively contribute to our world in a creative way.
If you have never been to a Maker Faire yourself, I think you’re missing out. See if there is one near you and go have a look. Or even better, if you’ve got time, see if there is a project you can come up with or a Hackspace nearby you can join to add to the creativity on offer and meet up with other enthusiastic people who like to make stuff.
A Boy for Each Hand 