Top: Cokementos demo by Eepybird.
The first Maker Faire NY wrapped up on Sunday, leaving many happy home-tinkering New Yorkers in its wake. The exhibitors and attendees come from a mix of niche groups, but Make Magazine's string of Faires provide the connection for all of these wonderful and nerdy interests. Coexisting in this realm are: technology, crafting, electronics, science experiments, and carnival stunts, all living and somehow making sense together. The connection is DIY culture, but deeper and more simply, the whole ethos that leads to DIY: questioning a given, and messing with it.
Even the showiest events at Maker Faire have this as their core. A performance by ArcAttack and their Tesla coils that shoot lighting was impressive, and they were great performers. But all of their equipment, from the electronics they use and the chain maille suits they wear to conduct lighting were cobbled together, which is all part of the charm. (In this video of ArcAttack, check out the foil around the goggles, and you might spot a paperclip holding together part of the guy's headgear.)
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