Maker

The 4th Annual Cleveland Mini Maker Faire took place on Saturday, November 5, 2016, and we have attended three out of the four. It was a day for creative people to share their passion with others. 

Again this year, the Cleveland Mini Maker Faire was located in the Cleveland Public Library Main Library complex, and was presented by Cleveland Public Library and Ingenuity Cleveland.

We felt honored that the Executive Director/CEO of the Cleveland Public Library, Felton Thomas, Jr., greeted us by name as we entered the library, and invited us to explore this special Maker event.

I have attended the grand opening of the Cleveland Public Library TechCentral MakerSpace. The technology center staff at the Akron Public Library gave me a tour during the Akron Maker Faire. Now, I am pleased to be able to write about the Cuyahoga County Public Library's new Innovation Center at their Garfield Heights Branch. I was fortunate to be part of a special orientation tour given to members of the Cleveland Digital Publishing Users Group (CDPUG) for their March 31, 2016, meeting.

On October 27, 2015, we were very fortunate to be invited to attend Case Western Reserve University's think[box] Thinkapalooza!

Even before the new think[box] space opened, we had heard about how great it was going to be. Thinkapalooza was part of the grand opening of Case Western Reserve University think[box]'s new space for promoting innovation and entrepreneurial enterprises. Its new name is the Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears think[box] and it is located in the Richey Mixon Building. It is one of the largest centers of its kind for an academic institution.

think[box] is a resource that will first focus on the students, faculty, and staff of the university, but will also be open to others in the surrounding community.

September 19, 2015 -- what a day!

I am a person who likes to attend a lot of events, but this day was unusual even for me! I got up at 6:00 a.m. to prepare for the day, and did not get home until late at night.

The reason for sharing my day with you, the reader, is twofold:

• I learned about a lot of interesting things.

• I want to thank everyone that made the day's events a grand success. Most of the people involved are donating their time to make our community better.

Here is how I spent my day:

• WebSigCleveland.org Meeting - Introduction to Web Application Vulnerability

• Akron-Summit County Public Library - Akron Mini Maker Faire

• Launch League - SpaceWalk 2015 Reception

Robots! 3-D Printers! Hackers! Mobile Broadcasting! Makers! Astronomy! Circuits! Kites! Make A Telescope! - Akron's October 2014 Mini Maker Faire had all of this and more!

Congratulations to the Akron-Summit County Public Library staff for this year's success! They doubled the attendance this second year of the event, with over 1,500 attendees.

We attended and greatly enjoyed the Akron Mini Maker Faire on November 2, 2013, so we were excited to be able to attend the Cleveland event this year. (We missed the first Cleveland Mini Maker Faire last year.) As the date of March 29, 2014, approached, we heard that the Cleveland Mini Maker Faire was going to be huge -- and it was!

Julie and Kevin were intrigued after reading Stuart’s blog post about the grand opening of the new Cleveland Public Library TechCentral MakerSpace, and decided to see it for themselves. They joined Stuart at the Greater Cleveland PC User Group (GCPCUG) “field trip” to TechCentral last Saturday, February 8, 2014, where they learned that so much is happening at the Cleveland Public Library!

The group of about 30 people was warmly welcomed by TechCentral Manager C.J. Lynce and TechCentral Coordinator Sam Tripodis about half an hour before the library opened to the public for a private tour of the new MakerSpace. They gave a very interesting introduction to the different pieces of equipment that make up TechCentral and its MakerSpace.

I had fun last Saturday! After attending the great Codemash conference last week, I did not want to experience post-conference technology withdrawal symptoms, so I decided to attend yet another technology-related event.

The grand opening of the new TechCentral MakerSpace at the Cleveland Public Library showcased some exciting technology. What makes the MakerSpace truly remarkable is that these tech resources are now accessible to anyone with a library card.

What can we say about this event? It was VERY impressive! We saw more 3-D printers in one place than we have ever seen before. Lego robots, University of Akron robotics and aeronautics teams, The Akronist drone, and much more -- all this made for a great tech afternoon in Akron. There was so much to see that we were not able to get to everything, so we are looking forward to going again next year to see more!

Computers, metalworking tools, a 3D printer, and woodworking tools are just a few of the resources available at SYN/HAK, Akron's hackerspace. However, as we learned at their open house, the most important resource at the location is the synergy and creativity of the people who make it their second home.