Wed, 05/31/2017 - 3:00pm

Kay Stephens

Last year’s Mini Maker Faire held at the Camden Amptheatre.

CAMDEN—Over the past four years, the Midcoast Mini Maker Faire has been a gathering of not only innovators and tinkerers, but also artists, do-it-yourselfers, craftspeople, and performers.

The Midcoast Mini Maker Faire committee is now looking for Makers for the fifth annual 2017 Faire, to be held in the Library Amphitheatre on Saturday, September 9, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. One of the organizers,Cayla Miller said: “The criteria is pretty open. We’re looking for Makers of nontraditional things. Some people think it’s just about robotics, but it’s more than that. We do have a Children’s Robotics team coming to display, but we’re also open to innovators, programmers, woodworkers, artists and anything that can be made with your hands that isn’t necessarily fine arts. You don’t have to be a professional; you just have to have a passion for what you do. The Midcoast Mini Maker Faire has a place for everything from hands-on to high tech.”

The day of the event is usually bustling with excitement with more than 20 tables, exhibits and hands-on activities involving robots, LEGOs® and funky art creations for kids and adults. The scene often resembles a homegrown version of the Museum of Science in Boston and they call it “The Greatest Show and Tell on Earth”—a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity, and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker Movement. It’s a place where people show what they are making, and share what they are learning.

Past events have attracted about 900 people each year, both local community members and visitors to the Midcoast. Many of these visitors are families with elementary or middle-school aged children. This year the Festival plans to host workshops to increase the adult participation as well as feature DIY projects targeted to adult makers.Over the past several years, the Midcoast Mini Maker Faire has hosted homemade cars, power-assisted bicycles, underwater robots, arduinos, a solar-powered merry-go-round, LEGO robots, cyanotypes, giant bubbles, and a full-scale camera obscura.

The Camden Public Library is excited to present this festival of invention, creativity, and resourcefulness intended to inspire the current and future generations of makers and entrepreneurs. For more information, please contact Cayla Miller at cmiller@librarycamden.org or call the library at 236-3440.

Everyone is encouraged to think of themselves as a Maker and to come for the show! Applications are available online at www.midcoastmakerfaire.com

All photos courtesy Midcoast Mini Maker Faire

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com