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Akron Mini Maker Faire & SYN/HAK The Akron Hackerspace Open House

Blog Date
Author(s)
Julie Smith
Stuart O. Smith, Jr.
Tags
Akron
Technology
Hackerspace
Maker
Library

Akron Mini Maker Faire & SYN/HAK The Akron Hackerspace Open House

We first learned about the Akron Mini Maker Faire while attending the September 20-22, 2013, Ingenuity Cleveland 2013. Our friend, Gaurav Narain Saxena (@gsvolt), who runs @SYNHAK, Akron's hackerspace, let us know about the event and that SYN/HAK would have a booth there.

We had missed the April 13, 2013, Cleveland Mini Maker Faire (@MakerFaireCleve), since Stuart was finishing a backpacking trip in the southern part of the Appalachian Trail, but we heard that the event was great. We have learned that this was the first Maker Faire (@MakerFaire) in Cleveland, and that it was presented by Cleveland Public Library (@Cleveland_PL) and Ingenuity Cleveland (@Ingenuityfest).

After hearing about the success of this event in Cleveland last spring, we were excited to attend the fall Akron Mini Maker Faire (MakerFaireAkron.com) and the open house at SYN/HAK that followed.


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Akron Mini Maker Faire

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 (@uakron) robotics and aeronautics teams, The Akronist (@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!

We learned that the Akron Public Library (AkronLibrary.org - @AkronLibrary) will have 3D printers available for public use in 2014. We recommend learning more about the Akron Library's Electronic Services Division for computer classes and other resources.


Akron Mini Maker Faire 2013
presented by the Akron-Summit County Public Library

Please see the links to participants, tweets (with photos and links), and our photos that follow to get a flavor of all we saw at the event.

We hope that our Akron Maker Faire photos will entice you to attend future maker events.

Select this link if your device does not support the Flickr Slideshow

Tweets and retweets about the Akron Mini Maker Faire:

Trackside Grille

After the Akron Library's Maker Faire, we enjoyed dinner with our family at the Trackside Grille. When our sons were younger, we used to enjoy taking them to Quaker Square to see all the wonderful displays, and for dinner at the Trackside Grille. This was the first time we have been back since the University of Akron took over the management of the Quaker Square complex in 2008.

We really enjoyed ourselves, reminiscing and playing pool with our sons. The movie The Matrix happened to be on the television while we were playing pool after our meal. Stuart thought that it was an appropriate tech movie for a day of tech in Akron.

SYN/HAK The Akron Hackerspace Open House

We tried to capture the feel of SYN/HAK, Akron's hackerspace, with these photos. Computers, metalworking tools, a 3D printer, and woodworking tools are just a few of the resources available. (See the SYN/HAK "What We Offer" web page to learn more.) However, the most important resource at the location is the synergy and creativity of the people who make it their second home.

Select this link if your device does not support the Flickr Slideshow

We highly recommend this video created by The Akronist (@Akronist) which explains what SYN/HAK is all about:

SYN/HAK open house tweets and retweets:

The Future

As we were writing this, we received an email from Monique Mason, Manager of the Akron-Summit County Public Library's Science & Technology Division. She let us know that there were 39 maker exhibits and over 800 attendees during the 3 hours the 2013 Maker Faire was open.

She invites everyone to check the Akron Maker Faire Blog, MakerFaireAkron.com, regularly for news about the next Akron Mini Maker Faire.

Comments

Submitted by Stuart Smith on Thu, 02/06/2014 - 20:49

Comment

Announcement: 

Mark your calendar and plan on attending the Cleveland Public Library's (@Cleveland_PL) Cleveland Mini Maker Faire (​@MakerFaireCleve) on March 29, 2014, in partnership with Ingenuity Cleveland (@Ingenuityfest).

 

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