Category Archives: Reno Mini Maker Faire

The Reno Mini Maker Faire is looking for volunteers and we want YOU!

Want to be a part of the Biggest Little City’s 3rd Annual Mini Maker Faire? Want to give back to your community in a way that is both fun for you and encourages others to follow their curiosity and passion? Love robots and crafts and drones and art and all things maker-related? Then come be a volunteer at the Reno Mini Maker Faire on July 9th at Idlewild Park. You can volunteer for as little as two hours or as many as six. (We promise, the time flies by as you help people have the best experience possible!)

As a token of our gratitude, volunteers who work at least 4 hours will receive a free ticket, a rad Reno Mini Maker Faire T-shirt (see below!), a badge, snacks, and food.

Sign up here!

Makers, organizers, and volunteers all over Northern Nevada are working hard and gearing up for the best Reno Mini Maker Faire yet! Take advantage of our early bird online pricing and get your tickets today!

2016 Pricing:

Adults: $5 early bird online, $7 at the door
Kids 12 & Under: FREE!

You can buy your tickets in advance by clicking here.

This year we want to make the Reno Mini Maker Faire extra big, extra fun, and extra inspirational for all participants and attendees! We are seeking anyone who wants to take their creativity and innovation and give back to the community by inspiring others to MAKE and be creative. It’s a vibrant gathering of innovative minds and the perfect opportunity to learn, as well as share! Applications will be accepted until Friday, June 10 at 11:49pm.

If you want to exhibit, we require a hands on/learning/sharing element to your exhibit. Think about how you can make your exhibit that much more exciting and engaging for attendees by having some sort of hands-on or learning activity.  Here are a few ideas about what types of Maker Exhibitors we are looking for! (Don’t see your category below? Please still apply – we want makers of all kinds to inspire our community!)

• Student Clubs and Projects
• Robotics
• Arduino and Raspberry Pi projects
• Space Projects (Rockets, telescopes…the sky’s the limit! Or rather, the observable universe is!)
• Food Makers (Bakers and brewers and sous chefs, oh my!)  
• Conductive Materials Projects (Circuit boards, anyone?)
• Interactive Art Projects
• 3D printers and CNC mills
• Textile Arts and Crafts (Attendees love learning these art forms!)
• Home Energy Monitoring
• Remote Controlled Toys and Gadgets
• Sustainability and Green Tech (We think we live in the most beautiful place on the planet – how are you helping to keep it that way?)
• Theatre, Music and all Performing Arts (We’d love to have you perform!)
• Kites (Love to fly kites? Idlewild Park is the perfect place to do it!)
• Bicycles (Simply put: Reno LOVES bikes – of all kinds!)
• Radios, Vintage Computers, and Gaming of All Kinds
• Electric Vehicles (Want to show off that fancy new Tesla you got or that oldie you converted to run on veggie oil?)
• Biology/Biotech and Chemistry projects
• Shelters (Tents, domes, and tiny homes!)
• Unusual Tools or Machines

 

“Humans do two things that make us unique from all other animals. We use tools and tell stories. And when you make something, you’re doing both at once.”

-Adam Savage

FEES:

There is no fee for makers to exhibit at the Reno Mini Maker Faire.

If you want to sell items, products, or services, you will need to pay the Commercial Makers Fee. The Commercial Maker fee is $50 for those with a City of Reno License or Non-Profit Status and $65 for those without one. (You’ll be able to choose which one you qualify for in the online application form.)

SOME GUIDELINES FOR EXHIBITS:

• Best: An interactive exhibit where the public can safely get their hands dirty and make something or learn something. (Examples: Learn to Solder, Ham Radio, Squishy Circuits Demo, Recycled Crochet and Plarning, Make a Kite)
• Best: A playful, interactive exhibit where kids (of all ages) can free their mind and simply play. (Examples: Thinker Linkers, Lego Bricks, Robotic Gladiators, Fly a Kite, Ride a Crazy Custom Bike)
• Next Best: An in-person demonstration of a project, skill, art, craft, or talent.  Something that will inspire folks to go home and get involved in that subject,or learn more. (Examples: Tesla Coil, Wood Turning, Arduino Programming, Underground Railroad Quilting)
• Next Best: Peformances, Exhibits, or Kinetic Art that include “How and Why I Made This” (Examples: Steam Punk Art, Interesting Musical Instruments, Giant Robotic Suits)
• Next Best: A showcase of your invention, project, new-product, or maker-related business.  (Examples: ShopBot Tools, Kickstarter Projects, Science Kits)
• Next Best: Static Displays and only if the creator is willing to be available to answer questions and explain how-why the made what they made. (Examples: Sculpture, Student Projects, Science Projects)

A FEW DON’TS:

• Unsafe Exhibits will not be allowed (a safety plan must be submitted for any exhibit that may be potentially harmful)
• Maker Faire is about showcasing your ideas and your art, it is not a trade show or commercial venue. The goal is to inspire but not necessarily to sell. If you would like to sell something, please be sure to let us know so we can register you as a vendor. Only registered vendors will be allowed to sell anything.
• Arriving late or leaving early: The exhibit should be set up and running for the public at 10:00am and you should not tear down your exhibit prior to 5:00pm.  (If you need special accommodations due to distance or other factors, please let us know.)

WHAT YOU GET IF YOU ARE SELECTED TO EXHIBIT WITH US:

• Space is generally 10×10 but larger spaces are possible for the right exhibits. This year all spaces will be located outside.
• Electricity for those booths that require it (110 VAC only). Please bring your own UL approved outlet strips, extension cords, and cord hold-downs as needed (rubber trip guards or non-marring gaffer tape only).
• Tables and Chairs (If at all possible please bring your own tables and chairs – it really helps us on our end!)
• WiFi Access from the event venue. (Please note, access may be spotty due to the number of people accessing it, or due to radio interference from exhibits such as Tesla Coils.  If internet access is critical to your project, please provide your own hot-spot.)
• Promotion of your exhibit (links and information on our makers page, mention on our Twitter account, links and promotion via our Facebook page.)
• Assistance with unloading, loading, and booth sitters for bathroom breaks thanks to our amazing volunteers!
• A great time, a relaxed atmosphere, lots of good memories!

Need some inspiration? Check out the Maker Faire video below!

Greetings Northern Nevada Community and friends from the surrounding areas. It is that time of the year!  The Greatest Show (and Tell) in Northern Nevada will be having it’s 3^rd annual Reno Mini Maker Faire event! Mark your calendars for Saturday, July 9^th from 11 am – 5 pm at Idlewild Park, Reno Nevada.  This year we are excited and honored to be a presenter of the Artown’s 2016 summer festival!  The past 2 years of the event has been such a blast!  Check out our photostream and videos from our last 2 events!  Reno Mini Maker Faire Flickr

We are really excited about this year, showcasing amazing projects and activities that you have created and want to share.  We will open the CALL FOR MAKERS application in just a few short weeks, so stay tuned and follow us on our social media for any updated information announcements, and just some cool DIY ideas and projects to do at home.

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Flickr

Things are just starting to slow down a bit here at Reno Mini Maker Faire headquarters and we wanted to take a moment to look back to all the awesomeness that happened this past Saturday in gorgeous downtown Reno.

• It was another hot one!
  • Seems like no matter what day or month we decide to hold our faire on, the heat insists on making an appearance. Luckily, there was lots of water and sunscreen to go around and the fun activities and presentations in The Discovery provided a great afternoon heat escape!
• The makers came out in force!
  • We had a total of 58 makers (nearly double the number of last year!) and they were as diverse as they were educational and inspiring. From electric dirt bikes and art cars to robots and yarn arts – there was something for everyone this year!
• We had 10 presentations!
  • We felt incredibly lucky to have 10 fantastic presentations at this year’s faire. We were able to learn from local experts on topics ranging from patents and science to reupholstering and Bohemian beauty diys! Let us know what you’d like to learn about in a presentation or workshop next year at the faire!
• The Reno-Sparks community came to play!
  • We had over 750 attendees this year and we know it’s only going to get bigger and better! If you came, be sure to shoot us an email letting you know what you liked and what you want to see at the faire in the future! And be sure to spread the word: we want to make this Reno’s premier family festival full of hands-on diy-ing, learning, sharing, and having fun!

Thanks again to our amazing sponsors and to everyone who came out to play with us last weekend! We want you to know how much we appreciate your support and how much we love creating a platform for all the amazing makers in the Reno-Sparks area to come and share their knowledge and passions!

As the 2nd annual Reno Mini Maker Faire approaches we would like to feature just a few of the amazing makers who will be sharing their projects, knowledge, and passion with everyone.

Today we’re featuring the amazing Kristen Ashbaugh-Helmreich from Jimmy Beans Wool!

1. My name is Kristen (Ashbaugh-Helmreich) and I’m a knitter & knitwear designer from Jimmy Beans Wool.

2. My maker superpower is: I design knitted garments and accessories and can whip up items on the fly…no pattern needed!

3. I’m inspired by: Nature. Many of my designs are inspired by places and things in Northern Nevada.

4. The most exciting project I have worked on was: A blanket inspired by Olympic Gold & Silver Medal Skier, Tommy Moe. We did a collaborative book project with the US Ski & Snowboard Teams a couple of years ago and I was chosen to design something for Tommy. It was this huge blanker with the Spyder Logo stitch onto it. Imagine stitching a huge black widow spider onto a blanket. It was a true test of patience for me, but it turned out awesome and looked really stunning and dramatic once photographed. Did I mention I made two of these? One to give to Tommy and one for the book. Yeah. Patience. 🙂

As the 2nd annual Reno Mini Maker Faire approaches we would like to feature just a few of the amazing makers who will be sharing their projects, knowledge, and passion with everyone.

Today we’re featuring the amazing Nellie Davis from Outsiders Studio!

1. My name is Nellie Davis and I’m a hair artist from Outsiders Hair Studio.

 

2. My maker superpower is: vision. 

 

3. I’m inspired by: texture, color, nature, urban art, you name it. I see beauty in so much around me and try to interpret that in my own work.

 

4. The most exciting project I have worked on was: having the opportunity to participate in the Main Entrance Artists session in New York. Surrounding myself with other high caliber artists really inspires me to work at that level and have free reign of my creativity. 

*Look for Nellie at her booth doing some amazing hands-on braiding workshops! She’s also giving a great talk on trends, fashion, and the type of making she knows best!