Maker Faire was a really cool event, I also exhibited there once. The barrier to show something used to be actually quite low and it was easy to get in touch with people dealing with similar topics.
On the other hand I never understood why that had so much focus on kids stuff. Of course it's easy to get attention from kids as long as things move, blink etc. But this stuff isn't really sophisticated, neither are the associated workshops - of which there are plenty.
If you think about it, it makes no sense because kids don't have money and complex projects require actually a lot of planning and deep understanding of the topics involved.
I think they should have focussed on more advanced projects. In fact a lot of projects both at Maker Faire but also in the Maker scene in general are quite unfinished. This can be nice when it comes to art but technical projects are most interesting when they reach MVP / release status.
Part of it might be the reason I've never particularly gotten into Maker culture. It's very easy to make a little beginner project which is fun but doesn't do anything particularly useful. However, more advanced projects either require a) an unfilled need, or b) an artistic imagination. And even if you have a or b, you may still be looking at more money than you're willing to spend.
I much prefer the repair-and-reuse end of maker culture.
On the other hand I never understood why that had so much focus on kids stuff. Of course it's easy to get attention from kids as long as things move, blink etc. But this stuff isn't really sophisticated, neither are the associated workshops - of which there are plenty.
If you think about it, it makes no sense because kids don't have money and complex projects require actually a lot of planning and deep understanding of the topics involved.
I think they should have focussed on more advanced projects. In fact a lot of projects both at Maker Faire but also in the Maker scene in general are quite unfinished. This can be nice when it comes to art but technical projects are most interesting when they reach MVP / release status.