Manchester Mini Maker Faire

Call for Volunteers!

Maker Faire Team — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:47:37 +0000

Call for Volunteers!

Volunteers help make a Maker Faire! Without the fantastic teams of volunteers that power Maker Faire’s around the world they simply wouldn’t be the amazing event they are.

Manchester is no different and needs you! We have a range of roles that we’d like to fill, these include:

General volunteers (this could be anything from helping setup and minding makers stands to helping visitors navigate around the faire )
Entrance volunteers
The first people visitors see [and receive a nice sticker off] when they arrive at Maker Faire. It can get rather busy so mustn’t mind a bit of hustle and bustle while keeping a big smile on your face
Soldering Volunteer
Soldering is a Maker Faire staple, every one who visits a Faire should leave having learnt how to solder [with a cool badge!] If you can solder please do think about helping us out.
Photo/video Volunteer
With so much amazing going we need some help capturing all the memories. To register for this role we ask that you are happy to upload your work to one of our accounts and for us to use it for any Maker Faire related things [ideally release it under a CC license]). Of course we will always attribute you.
Maker Faire Crier - Oyez, Oyez, Oyez!
Not sure what a [town] crier is, take a look at this video. We think this could be a fantastic way to let visitors know what’s happen throughout the day.

As you can see we’ve got a good range of roles to choose from. Volunteering at Maker Faire is not only a great experience but also offer a few perks too like a free a T-Shirt, free food, and the equivalent of a backstage pass (access to the faire outside of public hours) a wonderful chance to socialise and see exhibits up-close.

REGISTER NOW

Maker OPEN HOUSE at MOSI this Saturday (18 May)

Maker Faire Team — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:39:57 +0000

Maker Open House at MOSI this Saturday (18 May)

Come and say hello, have a cuppa and ask any questions you like.

Are you thinking about coming to the Manchester Maker Faire this August but still feel a bit unsure and need to talk to someone?

Or maybe you’ve got a good idea but want to see the spaces where it might work?

Whatever your question, the organisers of the Faire are here to help.

We’re having an “open house” session at MOSI on Saturday from 11am to 2pm.

Come and find us in the Revolution Manchester Gallery and we will do our best to answer your questions.

We’ll be in this gallery wearing our badges at a table with a Maker Faire poster. Come and see us!

Call for Makers is open!

Maker Faire Team — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:35:51 +0000

Calling all Makers!

The Call for Makers 2013 is now live!

Machester Mini Maker Faire is back for 2013 and it’s going to be bigger and better! To do this we need plenty of Makers so click below and find out more.

You can find out more and apply to be a Maker here.

We are already planning some big outdoor making activities and a wider range of hands-on workshops. One thing we have added this year is a small programme of brief, exciting talks and presentations; so please do consider whether you have anything to offer!

Let’s build a WikiHouse

Maker Faire Team — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:29:31 +0000

Let’s build a WikiHouse

Are you interested in getting your hands dirty, making stuff and having fun? Of course you are!

Then get in touch with us to join the build project for a WikiHouse to be erected live on the web at Manchester Mini Maker Faire 2013.

We’re also looking for other good ideas to offer outdoors in the Museum yard: so if you’ve got a project that you want to turn into reality get in touch and we’ll see how we can help”

For more info about WikiHouse see http://www.wikihouse.cc

Making Makers Welcome

Maker Faire Team — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 14:36:53 +0000

Making Makers More Welcome!

At Manchester Mini Maker Faire, we’re warm hearted folks and we’re always looking for ways to make our Makers even more welcome. So this year, we will hold ‘open house’ a few weeks before the event so that Makers and volunteers can:

Walk the spaces where the event will be held to get familiar with them
Meet the organising team and make suggestions for improvements face to face
Share lunch or a coffee and get to know who else is coming to our great event!

Fuelled by strong tea, MOSI volunteer Mahendra Chatha shows how it’s done with a Mercury Arc Rectifier.

Manchester Mini Maker Faire 2013!

Maker Faire Team — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 22:47:20 +0000

Manchester Mini Maker Faire 2013

We are delighted to announce that the second Manchester Mini Maker Faire will take place at the Museum of Science and Industry on the 10-11 August 2013.

We will be building on our highly successful first Maker Faire held at MOSI in the summer of this year and expect to bring you even more amazing things to see and to do.

If you would like to take part in the Faire as a Maker then please join our Manchester Mini Maker Faire Google group where you can join in discussions with other makers, as well as the organisers, and be among the first to hear the announcement of the Call for Makers which will be posted next year.

Whether you want to exhibit at the Faire or not; put the dates in your diary and remember to bring along the whole family for two days of inspiration and fun.

Roundup

Maker Faire Team — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 09:56:49 +0000

So, it’s all over and everyone’s had a week to recover. People have started getting photos up and blogposts written so it’s really nice to be able to see those!

You can download a list of all those wonderful people who came from Greater Manchester and Beyond (including Belguim!) to exhibit at the MMMF: Makers in mostly their own words (this should have been available earlier sorry – can only blame mental block and wrestling with WP …)

The MMMF had a couple of write ups from BBC news online first this, then this which helped get the word out on the event. For a quick review of the event, see this Storify story put together by @Defnetmedia.

Alex aka @CuddlemeViolet was All About The Beads up in the 1830 Warehouse and she recorded her view on the weekend here. This captures the essence of how different a Maker Faire is from a ‘normal’ craft show.

A couple of exhibitors made timelapse videos:

Showing the energy usage in the 1830 Warehouse Polargraph robots (YouTube)

Another one from Saddleworth Vintage - continual streams of people!

It was enormous fun and the smiles on everyone’s faces, visitors and makers alike were really fantastic to see. If you have any comments, photos or videos to share please do! Use the email address, @MakerFaireMCR or the Facebook page.

Meet the Makers

Maker Faire Team — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 13:01:25 +0000

3D Printing

3D printing is going to be well represented at the Manchester Mini Maker Faire. We’re looking forward to seeing 3D printers in action, as well as some of the ingenious objects that people have designed and made.

Mark Gilbert with the clock “Fable”

Visitors to the Faire will be able to learn more about this exciting tool and even meet the designer of the Mendel90 printer.

Meet the Makers

Maker Faire Team — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 09:21:01 +0000

MOSI projects

Gary paints counters for a giant Connect Four inspired game

MOSI staff really got behind the Manchester Mini Maker Faire. Some of the Technical Services team created giant versions of games inspired by the much loved KerPlunk and Connect Four. We had a sneaky play on these the other day and we’re sure that the whole family will love challenging each other.

Creative play in the Atelier space

In a little corner of the Textiles Gallery is what MOSI calls their Atelier space. Fantastic sensory experiences have been designed specially for under-5s, including those with special needs and disabilities. Hour long sessions are scheduled through the day at 10.30am, 12.30pm, 2.00pm and 3.30pm. Spaces are limited.

You can also have a go at paper making, which is a session usually only offered to school groups visiting MOSI. Produce a piece of hand crafted paper using an old fashioned mould, deckle and press. This will be run as a drop-in workshop, so check the times when you arrive at the Museum. Remember that the paper has to dry out!

Meet the Makers

Maker Faire Team — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 11:35:11 +0000

Manchester Game Jam

This is going to be excellent fun at the Mini Maker Faire – not only will you be able to play on the videogames that talented people have made specially for this weekend, but there’ll be game making in progress too. We’re looking forward to the massive controller buttons that they’ve been working on with HacMan.

If this seems like the kind of thing you want to be involved in future, keep an eye on MCRgamejam and Dan Hett’s blog for upcoming events. There’s also a great explanation of what Game Jam is all about here.