I am inspired by Maker Faire Singapore, are you? by May Lim

Last weekend was a blast at Maker Faire Singapore, a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker movement. Maker Faire began in California in 2012, and has since planted its seeds across numerous countries including US, UK, Taiwan, Japan, and in its fourth year running – Singapore.

The two-day fair had more than 250 booths – more than double the number last year – spread over three floors in a former school building in Tampines. The fair not only helped to engage, connect and grow this community so that we can foster and celebrate a stronger do-it-yourself culture, but also allowed participants to participate in hands-on activities and pick up new skills at the event.

Our team was down to check out the latest and coolest projects, and it was such an eye-opener! We were truly inspired by the passion and enthusiasm of these artists, hobbyists, scientists and tech enthusiasts at the fair. And we share some of the highlights below 🙂

Makers' Skills
Participants picked up skills at the Maker Faire, such as furniture making and soldering
Making Enzymes
Or making enzymes from fruit waste that can be used to clean your house!
Welding Demo
A live welding demo by OneMakerGroup that used charcoal to heat the aluminium above 600 degree Celsius to melt and mould it
IoT Booth
My friends and I also had a booth to showcase our “IoT in Smart Homes” application – a box that can be locked/unlocked remotely with a mobile app!
Intel Booth
Intel had a huge showcase of their coolest projects built upon the Intel Edison board. Those 6-legged dancing robots were amazingly fun to play with
3D Scanner
A 3D scanner put together by Autodesk using Raspberry Pi boards. It was interesting to inspect the “bare-bone” of this technology
Latte Plus
Fancy a robot-made latte art? Robots can do creative work too!
Electric Hammock
A fusion of art and technology – an electric hammock and light display
Handicraft
There were also more traditional handicrafts on display. Pick up a pair of hand-made earrings for that special someone!
Strawbee
Strawbee kept kids really busy with… straws! Simple tools that we never knew could build such dramatic structures
Bicycles
We spotted unconventional bikes by Bikes 4 Fun, whose mantra is to inspire children to reinvent and be creative
Forums
Besides booth showcase, inspiring speakers also went on stage to deliver forum presentations on various topics around the Maker movement

I have always been interested in technology and its potential to help people of all background create value in their lives. But I have not had much opportunity to witness this live. At the Maker Faire, I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing the collective passion of all makers in creating something out of nothing. It was heartening and empowering. And it was an even bigger bonus for me to have made several new friends who share similar interests in making.

I definitely look forward to further this Maker movement in other communities!

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