This year’s NoCo Mini Maker Faire, an all-ages festival featuring do-it-yourself makers, showcases never-before-seen creations including a fire breathing, laser shooting 30 foot Robot Resurrection, a BrickBuilder Expo, a Youth Entrepreneurship Showcase, a 6 foot robotic 3D printing arm and much, much more. Held October 4th and 5th at Loveland’s Rocky Mountain Center for Innovation and Technology, this event features a multitude of hands-on activities from soldering games with SparkFun to laser engraving with Epilog Laser and a Cardboard Challenge! With opportunities to make, create, learn, invent, craft, recycle, build, think, play and be inspired, this second annual NoCo Mini Maker Faire hosted is Colorado and the region’s largest with indoor and outdoor exhibits, hands-on demos and presentations spread out over 100,000+ sq feet.
There are just 10 days left to sign up as a maker/exhibitor and join the amazing makers already signed up.
Highlights
Robot Resurrection:
- 30’ towering Robot sculpture made of recycled metal. It has fully articulating, arms, head, and hands.
- Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSJZLmhAc38
SparkFun’s soldering workshop:
SparkFun is a presenting sponsor of the event and will be holding their signature soldering booth teaching folks of all ages and skill levels the lifelong skill of soldering!
Loveland BrickBuilder Expo:
In partnership with the Colorado Wyoming LEGO User Group (CoWLUG), this Expo will include displays from master builders, a brick building play area, and a building competition.
Sculpture Games:
- Teams compete to make sculptures out of a pile of scraps.
- Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVCnypXvWEo
Cardboard Challenge:
- The Cardboard Challenge is a conduit for creativity and the role communities can play in fostering our creative capacity.
- Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A97nfNs3ewg
Sound Puddle:
- The SoundPuddle is an interactive space of visual-acoustic synesthesia. This spectrographically colorful spaces creates color and light from sound, illuminating every noise you make on an immersive canopy of light. Bring your voices and musical instruments, and 5,760 LEDs will unify your ears and eyes.
- Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKy5J4lC1wI#t=11
Nerdy Derby developed by CSU LEAP students:
- The Nerdy Derby is a no-rules* miniature car building and racing competition. With a larger, undulating track and no restrictions on the size of the cars or materials participants can use, the Nerdy Derby rewards creativity, cleverness and ingenuity.
- Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMUOAvvRuwc
“As producers of the event,” says Elise VanDyne, Executive Director, “our job is simply to find the most creative makers in the region and help make their visions come true within the Faire. There is nothing more fun than bringing together an awestruck audience with the great people and groups that are imagining, building and sharing their creations.”
This event would not be possible without the generous support and participation of our sponsors and community collaborators including:
SparkFun – creators of DIY electronics for tech tinkerers everywhere
Make Magazine –DIY projects and inspiration for and from geeks
Rocky Mountain Center for Innovation and Technology and the City of Loveland
Epilog Laser – Laser engraving, cutting and marking systems
Aleph Objects – leading the open source 3D printing industry
Idea-2-Product Lab – a 3D lab speeding innovation, creativity and product development
And many more community supporters and collaborators.
