Roll up, roll up – the greatest show and tell in the South West is coming to Bristol, with the Mini Maker Faire!

Wednesday 12 August 2015

At-Bristol Science Centre, the harbourside science centre, will be welcoming the great and good of the ‘Maker Movement’ from across the South West to a free event which promises to be a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity and resourcefulness. Taking place on Saturday 22 August from 10am-5pm, visitors can expect to experience the weird and wonderful from lots of local makers, including robotic hearts, giant knitting, self-replicating 3D printers, a tweeting hamster, a giant staring eye, musical contraptions, and much much more!

Starting in America in 2006, the ‘Maker Faire’ movement has started to take root in the UK; this is the first time it has been held in At-Bristol. Part science fair, part county fair, and part something entirely new, a Maker Faire is an all-ages gathering of tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists, students, and commercial exhibitors. All of these “makers” come to Maker Faire to show what they have made and to share what they have learned.

The event will be spilt in to key thematic areas, including tech, robots, material makes, drawing stuff, crazy makes and making communities. A few of the key exhibitors and activities include:

• Build your own bot with ‘Shonkbot’ workshops from Bristol Hackspace – a cheap and simple robot to make, perfect for beginners!

• Discover how to make your own muppet-style puppet with local puppeteer Ellie Palmer.   

• Hold a heart in your hands - connect with a performer’s heartbeat through light and haptic technology with Rusty Squid’s ‘Heartfelt’ project.

• Meet Martin, Bristol’s first tweeting hamster – chat to At-Bristol’s own Live Science Team member Beth Cotterell as she describes how and why she hacked her hamster.

• Take your own portrait home, drawn by local robot ‘Giant Sketchy’ – a giant phone-powered robot that can draw your portrait!

Ruth Murray, Special Projects Manager for At-Bristol Science Centre said: “We’re really excited to be hosting the Bristol Mini Maker Faire; unearthing all the fantastic ideas and projects from people’s living rooms and sheds has been such a pleasure - Bristolians and their creations do not disappoint! Creating events and activities to showcase this passion, open up conversations and inspire others is what At-Bristol is all about. Building on these themes of innovation and creativity, next year we’ll be launching a new permanent space on our Exhibition floor which will provide visitors with the tools and inspiration to make their own crazy ideas a reality. Who knows - at next year’s event we might be hosting projects made by our own visitors?!”  

The Bristol Mini Maker Faire runs from 10am-5pm on Saturday 22 August on the 2nd Floor of At-Bristol, with free entry to the event. For more information and to register for a ticket, please visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bristol-mini-maker-faire-2015-registration-... or www.at-bristol.org.uk.  At-Bristol will be open as normal from 10am-6pm, visit www.at-bristol.org.uk or call 0117 915 1000 for more information.

For further information, please contact Jen Forster, PR Manager for At-Bristol, on 0117 9157 152/07967 334 152 or jen.forster@at-bristol.org.uk.