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Local and regional Makers will show off their creations at the third Ann Arbor Mini Maker Faire, held 10 am to 5 pm Saturday June 4, 2011. This family-friendly event is free to attend, and is again at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds (aka “Saline Fairgrounds”) just 10 minutes south of Ann Arbor. Map to grounds.

This year's exhibits include:

• Learn to Solder
• DIY Satellites
• See neural electrical activity
• Silkscreen what you're wearing
• Electric Allis-Chalmers Tractor
• Marshall Stack Touchscreen Jukebox
• Hands-on activities from the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum
• Amateur Radio
• Sustainable Technology
• Pedal Power Pavillion
• Return of the Giant Vortex Cannon
• Electric Scooters
• Robots
• Paper folding and pop-up books

The Ann Arbor Mini Maker Faire is a locally-organized version of the Maker Faires in the Bay area May 21-22, the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit July 30-31, and in New York City on September 17-18.

(Late applications can still be made--see the Makers tab above for more details.)

Admission, parking, and all activities are free!

The Faire is open to the public from 10 AM to 5 PM Saturday June 4, 2011.

Washtenaw Farm Council Fairgrounds
(a.k.a. Saline Fairgrounds)
5055 Ann Arbor Saline Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
For more information, email us at: tendrid@gmail.com

Print and distribute this poster to spread the word!

















Thanks!

The Ann Arbor Mini Maker Faire is organized by a2 geeks in cooperation with

Media

Media Contact: Bob Stack, slowbob@umich.edu; or Dale Grover, dgrover@redcedar.com (734-417-8677).

Third Annual Ann Arbor "Mini" Maker Faire 2011 Comes to Town June 4

May 31, 2011
Ann Arbor, MI

Local and regional Makers will show off their creations at the third Ann Arbor Mini Maker Faire (http://www.a2makerfaire.com), held 10 am to 5 pm Saturday June 4, 2011. This family-friendly event is free to attend, and is again at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds (aka “Saline Fairgrounds”) 10 minutes south of Ann Arbor.

The Faire features silkscreening, vortex cannon, robots, amateur radio, sustainable technology, learn to solder, DIY satellite, computerized jukebox, machine vision, giant Simon game, make your own comics, and more, all with an emphasis on "do it yourself".

The mission of the Ann Arbor Mini Maker Faire is to present interesting or unique exhibits, individuals, and demonstrations in DIY science, technology, engineering, and art that excite, motivate, and educate. The emphasis is on cool things, skills, and knowledge. As a shorthand, the exhibits are the kind of thing you’d see in Make Magazine. The Faire is organized by a2geeks (http://www.a2geeks.org), a new Ann Arbor area foundation promoting the informal technology culture, and is organized in cooperation with Maker Faire.





Ann Arbor "Mini" Maker Faire 2011 Issues Call for Makers

April 13, 2010
Ann Arbor, MI

Organizers of the Ann Arbor "Mini" Maker Faire have issued a Call for Makers for the June 4, 2011 event to be held at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds. The Faire features exhibits and activities in robots, green tech, science, radio, rocketry, unusual tools/techniques, fixing and/or taking things apart, and other areas, all with an emphasis on "do it yourself." Last year's Faire drew over 1,600 people to engage in activities such as learning to solder and silk screening t-shirts, and saw exhibits including some which were featured in Make Magazine.

The Faire is free to exhibitors and visitors alike, and is funded by sponsors. It is organized by the group a2 geeks (www.a2geeks.org), a newly organized Ann Arbor area foundation promoting the informal technology culture. (a2 geeks is organized as a non-profit, and is applying for federal 501(c)(3) status.) The Faire is a local version of the major Maker Faires in the Bay area, at the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit, and in New York City.

Exhibitors can find additional information and an online application form at http://www.a2makerfaire.com. Application deadline is May 5, 2011.

The mission of the Ann Arbor Mini Maker Faire is to present interesting or unique exhibits, individuals, and demonstrations in DIY science, technology, engineering, and art that excite, motivate, and educate. The emphasis should be on cool things, skills, and knowledge. As a shorthand, the exhibits should be the kind of thing you'd see in Make Magazine.

Photo credit: Dale Grover
Caption: Visitors to the 2010 Ann Arbor Mini Maker Faire learn to solder a simple circuit.

Makers

Call For Makers for the Ann Arbor Mini Maker Faire 2011

The Ann Arbor Mini Maker Faire is now accepting entries for the Faire set for Saturday, June 4, 2011, at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds (a.k.a. the Saline Fairgrounds). We're looking forward to reviewing your application!

There is no cost to exhibit at the Faire.

Deadline for entries: ASAP. Please enter as early as you can so we can hold a space for you.

Notification of acceptance will be on a rolling basis.

Ann Arbor Mini Maker Faire 2011: June 4, 2011, 10 AM – 5 PM. (Note that this is graduation weekend for some schools.)

What we are looking for

• Robotics, CNC

• Green Tech (energy production/monitoring, electric vehicles, etc)

• DIY Science

• Participatory activities (e.g., participatory activities such as last year's silk screening or learn to solder, “Make and Takes”)

• Student projects

• Radio

• Rocketry/ballooning

• Unusual tools, machines, techniques

• Whimsical technical creations

• Fixing and/or taking things apart

Visitors want to learn something, so just as important as your exhibit will be your presence, explaining how you did what you did.

We are not looking for arts and crafts that people could see in other venues. But an oil painting by a robot painter, for example, will catch our eye.

See the Exhibitor Packet (see below) for the policy on sales. Basically, the main purpose of your exhibit should not be sales.

How to Apply

Review the Exhibitor Manual. This contains a wealth of information about the Faire, and will give you a better idea of what types of activities and exhibits will work well.

Submit an Entry Form that tells about your activity or exhibit. We'll ask for a description that we can publish, a representative photo we can publish, and contact information for the public to use (websites, email).

If you have any questions about exhibiting at the Ann Arbor Mini Maker Faire, please contact us at by email.

Other ways to participate

Sponsors: Please visit our sponsor page.

Volunteers: We really appreciate volunteers! If you are interested in helping out, please let us know!

We look forward to seeing you at this year's Faire!

Bob, Jim, Zach, Dale.

The 2011 Ann Arbor Mini Maker Faire Exhibitor Manual.

Cast-and-Crew

The 2011 Ann Arbor "Mini" Maker Faire is being organized by a2geeks. a2geeks is an Ann Arbor-based organization whose mission is to make Ann Arbor a better place for geeks to live and work through tech culture and community. (a2geeks is currently applying for federal non-profit--501(c)(3)--status, but is not currently tax-exempt.)

O'Reilly Media and Maker Faire have been supportive of local-scale, DIY Maker Faires, and we appreciate that a lot. However, they aren't responsible for oversights, mistakes, and other screw-ups that we'll no doubt make.

a2geeks Mini Maker Faire committee:
Jim Deakins
Dale Grover
Bob Stack
Zach Steindler

Special thanks to Ted Chesky for the rocket graphic!

Application

We have closed the signup form for this years event. We apologize if you missed out. Theres always next year!

Sponsors

Sponsorship opportunities for the 2011 Ann Arbor Mini Maker Faire

Sponsors are an important part of bringing this free, family-friendly event to Ann Arbor. We have four sponsorship opportunities for the 2011 Faire. Each is $750, and includes:

• 1/4-page advertisement in the printed program
  
• a "banner" (graphic) link on the Faire website front page
• logo on poster
• a table for handing out literature, etc.
  

Contact Bob Stack at slowbob@umich.edu for more sponsorship information or to become a sponsor. Thank you!

Notes

1. Please provide B&W art 2” wide by 4” high (or in that ratio) for inclusion in the program by May 1. This will be reproduced by copier; line art is prefered.

2. For inclusion on posters, please provide B&W line art as soon as possible. This may be downloaded and reproduced in color or black and white, so it would be best to avoid half tones.

3. At your convenience, please provide your desired “banner” graphic and link for listing on the Faire website. You can email this to “dgrover@redcedar.com”.

4. The provided table isn't meant to offer a loophole for selling items, but a sponsor may give out free samples, test drives, etc. If you have any question about what is appropriate, give Bob a call.

intro

The 2011 A2 Mini Maker Faire is on the way! More info coming soon!