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Press release September 5, 2019
Philadelphia Mini Maker Faire returns Sunday, October 6, 2019

Contact: Laura Chenault, laura@phillymakerfaire.com

Official media kit images here: https://philly.makerfaire.com/media-kit

It started as an idea – mostly as an idea about ideas – and how to turn ideas into reality. 

Event Date: Sunday, October 6, 2019

Event Location: Pennovation Works, 3401 Grays Ferry Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19146

Maker Faire is an all-ages gathering of inventors, tech enthusiasts, crafters, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, artists, and commercial exhibitors. Makers come to show what they have made and to share what they have learned. This all ages event is a unique combination of art, science, engineering, technology, and creative expression.

Following a very successful inaugural event in 2018, Maker Faire will grow in scale, opportunity, and excitement in 2019. The PhillyMakerFaire team is committed to growing, expanding, and building the Philly maker community. This year, the Independence Seaport Museum is our fiscal sponsor and NextFab continues to be our goldsmith sponsor.

Growing bigger in 2019

For 2019, the PhillyMakerFaire returns to Pennovation Works campus and growing to include 200 exhibitors and 4000-5000 attendees. We are moving the event to October, to increase engagement with schools and colleges.  Expanding hands-on opportunities, as well as robots, drones, 3D printers, glass blowers, there is something to entertain everyone!

Plans include:

  • More demos, performances, and speakers
  • Additional workshops and hands-on activities for fun and learning
  • College engineering and design projects
  • K-12 makers
  • Organize areas of interest: art, performance, robotics, 3D printers, etc.
  • Celebrity speakers and performers
  • Recruit investors and local manufacturers to meet with maker entrepreneurs
  • Increase distribution of FREE tickets to disadvantaged kids and families

2018 Highlights

The 2018 Philadelphia Mini Maker Faire included 100 exhibitors, dozens of presenters, workshops, and demos.  Over 1,700 people attended the all-day event.

The Inquirer’s Joseph N. DiStefano summarized: “Cool nerds from across the region… engineers, investors, students and artists signed up to spend the sunniest hours of the weekend challenging and celebrating more than 100 start-ups and small businesses.

In the news

The event was covered on television and in print.  NBC10-6ABC, the Inquirer, Philly.com, Technical.ly, Philadelphia Magazine, and other outlets positively reported on and promoted the event.

2019 Maker Highlights

  • NextFab hands on workshops and demonstrations 
  • FIRST robotics teams will show off their successes 
  • TOBOR: the 14-foot Robot Dinosaur
  • Cocoa Press a 3D chocolate printer
  • Penn, Drexel, and Temple will show off cutting edge science and technology
  • JUNTO Electric Bikes
  • Sergio a giant interactive piece inspired by Hasbro’s operation game                                                                    
  • The Chaos Machine: An interactive giant marble maze
  • Groove Catcher a virtual reality rhythm game
  • Augean Robotics, Inc – an agricultural robot
  • The Drone Workshop
  • Hands-on activities for both adults and kids
  • Art and performances that span old and new, from ceramics to artificial intelligence

Philadelphia Mini Maker Faire is independently organized and operated under license from Make Community, LLC.

For additional information, please contact

Laura Chenault
laura@phillymakerfaire.com

About Maker Faire:

Maker Faire is the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth—a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker Movement.  It’s a place where people show what they are making, and share what they are learning. 

Makers range from tech enthusiasts to crafters to homesteaders to scientists to garage tinkerers.  They are of all ages and backgrounds. The aim of Maker Faire is to entertain, inform, connect and grow this community.

The original Maker Faire event was held in San Mateo, CA and in 2018 celebrated its thirteenth annual show with some 1200+ makers and 150,000 people in attendance. World Maker Faire New York, the other flagship event, has grown in seven years to 900+ makers and 90,000 attendees.  Forty other larger scale Maker Faires occur in cities around the world—Detroit, Atlanta, Berlin, Paris, Rome, Tokyo, and Shenzhen to name a few— and over 150 community-driven, independently organized Mini Maker Faires are now being produced around the United States and the world.

About Make: Magazine:

Make: is the first magazine devoted entirely to Do-It-Yourself (DIY) technology projects. Make: unites, inspires, informs, and entertains a growing community of resourceful people who undertake amazing projects in their backyards, basements, and garages. Make: celebrates your right to tweak, hack, and bend any technology to your will.  Download a free issue here.

Besides the magazine and the faire, Make is:

  • a vital online stream of news and projects, blog.makezine.com;
  • a retail outlet for kits and books, the Maker Shed;
  • a steady stream of fun and instruction via our YouTube channel;
  • Make: Projects, a library of projects with step-by-step instructions
  • a publisher of best-in-category titles via Make: Books, including introductions to electronics, Raspberry Pi, 3D printing, Arduino and more.

More info: https://makerfaire.com

About the Pennovation Center

The Pennovation Center is a business incubator and laboratory that aligns and integrates researchers, innovators, and entrepreneurs for the commercialization of research discoveries. Intended to marry entrepreneurs with an expert workforce and scientifically advanced facilities, key features of the Pennovation Center are the common creative spaces, including coworking areas, a café, and a venue for events and programs.

By creating an atmosphere for collaboration, creativity, and productivity for innovators from all disciplines, the Pennovation Center brings people together to foster interaction and the exchange of ideas. Interior spaces in the 58,000 sqft building emphasize daylighting and retain an industrial character to develop social space with a “cool factor,” while an adjacent outdoor plaza focuses activity on the site and link surrounding buildings and open spaces to this new hub.

Landscaping for the entire site includes stormwater management techniques, increased connections between buildings, and access to Schuylkill River trails. Wayfinding and signage fosters an identity for the site, and increases visibility of the site and the Center from the surrounding area.

The campus development plan, Penn Connects, recommends sustainable development for all new projects. Like all new buildings and major renovation projects currently under design, the Pennovation Center is registered with the US Green Building Council, and is targeting LEED Silver rating or higher.

The Pennovation Center is operated and staffed by the award-winning innovation management company, Benjamin’s Desk. The Center staff includes a full time Managing Director, Community Manager, and Lab Manager, who ensure that our members and tenants have a world class experience each day and manage all meetings and special events.

More info: https://www.pennovation.upenn.edu