Tag Archives: inventors

Tampa Bay Mini Maker Faire in Review: Learning by Doing & Creating!

Posted on April 9, 2013 | Leave a comment

IMG_3002“Under the roof of The Concourse in Hudson, a celebration of innovation and the DIY culture is under way on a sunny Saturday in March. Mini Maker Faire exhibitors and attendees are largely indistinguishable. From the very young to the very old, participants flow through together, engaging each other and all the wonderful things their minds can conjure up. It is human creativity on full display, just waiting a chance to play.” Mitchell Brown, Tampa Mini Maker Faire: Nirvana 4 Geeks & Nerds

With these words, Mitchell Brown, a reporter for 83 Degrees, a Tampa Bay media group devoted to creating “ a new narrative for a new economy”, perfectly captured the spirit and intent of our 2013 Tampa Bay Mini Maker Faire!

“It’s impossible to leave the Mini Maker Faire uninspired,” writes Brown. “Ultimately, that’s the whole idea.”

Read the complete article at : 
http://83degreesmedia.com/features/makers040913.aspx
 and stay inspired with us all year long!

 

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Posted in Artists, Craftspeople, DIY, DIY Fun, Entrepreneurs, Florida Inventors, Hobbysts, Inventions, Make, Makers, Mini Maker Faire, Radio, RC, Robotics, Tampa Bay inventors, Tampa Bay Mini Maker Faire, Young Makers

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Are You Ready? We Are! See You Soon!

make a world of possibilities

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Posted on March 22, 2013 in Artists, Craftspeople, DIY, DIY Fun, Entrepreneurs, Games, Hobbysts, Inventions, Makers, Music, New technology, Radio, RC, Robotics, Tampa Bay Mini Maker Faire, Young Makers

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Tampa Bay Mini Maker Faire Program Online!

Posted on March 22, 2013 | Leave a comment

Event map

Our 2013 Event Program is now online!  Hardcopy versions are being printed courtesy of Dex Imaging in Tampa, who graciously donated printing services last year, too. ! Thank you, Dex Imaging, for your support of the Tampa Bay Mini Maker Faire!

Program schedule

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Posted in Artists, Craftspeople, DIY, DIY Fun, Entrepreneurs, Florida Inventors, Games, Hobbysts, Inventions, Makers, Mini Maker Faire, Music, New technology, Performers, Radio, Robotics, Sponsors, Tampa Bay inventors, Tampa Bay Mini Maker Faire, Toys, Young Makers

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Meet Our Makers!

Posted on March 19, 2013 | Leave a comment

poster 3 copy

At least some of them – More are coming on board in the next couple of days, bringing a rich variety of science, art, craft, engineering , music, food, and more, showcasing and celebrating the inventive spirit and the amazing work of all kinds of makers across Tampa Bay and beyond.

The great folks listed here are bringing art, music, robots, games, puzzles, inventions, ham radio, crafts, trades, jewelry, electronic gadgets and gizmos and much, much more for everyone to experience and enjoy!

Keep watching our Maker page throughout the rest of the week, to see the growing list of Makers!

Our 2013 Makers so Far…

Commercial Makers

gabotronics

Origami Owl

Upcycled Studios

Makers

backyard workshop

chuck stephens

Frets1

FIRST

GCARC

inanimate reason

in10didLI4E

Mentagy

MEOWSER

Pasco Teens

USF RIG

thinkamingo

urban conga

USGS

fur and taxidermy

young makers

See you at Tampa Bay Mini Maker Faire 2013!

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Posted in Artists, Craftspeople, DIY, DIY Fun, Entrepreneurs, Florida Inventors, Hobbysts, Inventions, Make, Makers, Mini Maker Faire, Music, New technology, Radio, Robotics, Tampa Bay inventors, Tampa Bay Mini Maker Faire, Toys, Young Makers

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FRETS1 Satellite Maker Aims High at Tampa Bay Mini Maker Faire

Posted on February 20, 2013 | 1 Comment

wescapsule_200x150Fresh from showcasing in in Ann Arbor and Detroit’s Maker Faires, Wesley Faler, now in the Tampa Bay area, is bringing his remarkable FRETS1 Satellite to Tampa Bay Mini Maker Faire in March. Powered by a homemade miniature ion engine that will actually fly in space, FRETS1 is a TubeSat-style nanosatellite that will fly at 310 kilometers high and over 17,000 miles per hour.

Intrigued, we asked Wesley to tell us more about his project.

“One day I was minding my own business in high school physics class,” he tubesatrelates. ” We were learning about voltage and charge, new yes but not terribly new considering a friend and I had built a particle accelerator years prior. What was new was an idea for using high charge for accelerating particles, something that seemed so much easier to do than using high voltage. So I tinkered and built a basic, and working, ion engine in the barn. (It still hangs in my lab, all wooden and full of steel wool and nails.) It was great fun but college came along then a decade focused on my career.

“In all, it was 15 years before I started tinkering with my own ion engine design again – being inspired by “Lifters” and their stranger cousins Asymmetrical Capacitor Thrusters. It turns out all of the easy things have been done for ion engines, so I’ve been on a quest to find new effects to apply. It’s taken me into some odd corners of physics and I finally found a way to significantly boost the thrust from an ion engine.

“That was well and good until one day I read two Internet articles. The first was from the Interorbital Systems company about their low cost satellite kit and launch package. $8K for most of a small satellite’s parts and it included the launch to orbit! Fantastic, and maybe someday I’d sign up I thought. Then I read an article about MIT’s brilliant idea for a new ion engine. (You see, the world is looking hard at ion engines these days.)

“The article said the engine works in the lab but they wanted to study it for several more years before launching. I thought that seemed ridiculous when they could have several flights per year with this new company, that they should really stop theorizing and start building. Silence. Silence. Sigh. I checked my savings account and opted for a satellite instead of a new car.

“Bottom line, I build a satellite to test an ion engine because I’m never done dreaming.”

We can’t think of a better reason to build a satellite!

 

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Posted in DIY, Florida Inventors, Makers, New technology, Tampa Bay Mini Maker Faire

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Happy New Year!

Posted on January 1, 2013 | Leave a comment

IMG_0689To celebrate  the New Year, we’ve gone live a day early with our Maker application!

So have at it! Get your Make on!  Wow us with your incredible ingenuity and creativity!

Set our collective minds afire with your amazing DIY inventiveness, and let’s show the world how absolutely amazing Tampa Bay is – not just for our magnificent weather, views,  and recreational opportunities – but for our unstoppable creative, entrepreneurial and inventive productivity, energy and intellect.

makers-apply-here

Exhibits that are interactive or highlight the process of making things are especially desired. Here’s the process… 

ENTRIES

The first step to participating in our Maker Faire is to submit an entry that tells us about yourself and your project. Entries can be submitted by individuals or groups like hobbyist clubs and schools. You can apply as a Maker, Commercial Maker (individual makers primarily selling —$50 booth fee), Workshop or Presentation, or Performer.  The application asks you to to provide a short description of what you make and what you will actually bring to Tampa Bay Mini Maker Faire. Photos, links and videos of exhibit  ideas are very helpful. The more we can see and learn about your exhibit, the better your chances of getting Maker space at the Faire.

 Here are just some of the things that we’re looking for:

  • Robotics
  • Kinetic & Installation Art
  • Music Performance
  • Hacks of Any Sort
  • Homesteader Projects
  • Workshops and Speakers
  • 3D Printers & Digital Fabrication
  • Textile Arts and Crafts
  • Student Projects
  • Rockets and RC Toys
  • Sustainability
  • Green Tech
  • Radios, Vintage Computers and Game Systems
  • Electronics
  • Electric Vehicles
  • Biology/Biotech and Chemistry Projects
  • Puppets
  • Kites
  • Bicycles and Human-Powered Machines
  • Shelter (Tents, Domes, etc.)
  • Unusual Tools or Machines
  • How to Fix Things or Take them Apart (Vacuums, Clocks, Washing Machines, etc.)
  • Food and Beverage vendors please write info@ebmakerfaire.com for more information.

Maker Exhibit: Our standard setup for a Maker exhibit is a 10′x10′ space.  If you need more space for your exhibit or project, please let us know. Use this space to display your work and/or demonstrate how you make something.

If you have any questions about participating in Maker Faire, please contact us by email: info@learningis4everyone.org

OTHER WAYS TO PARTICIPATE

Exhibitors and Sponsors: We welcome exhibitors and sponsors at our Mini Maker Faire. For more information about becoming an exhibitor or sponsor, please check out our Sponsor page or contact us at info@Learningis4everyone.org

 Volunteer: For information about volunteering at East Bay Mini Maker Faire, please email us at the above address.

We look forward to seeing you at Tampa Bay Mini Maker Faire 2013!

 

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Posted in Artists, Craftspeople, DIY, DIY Fun, Entrepreneurs, Florida Inventors, Hobbysts, Inventions, Make, Makers, Mini Maker Faire, Robotics, Sponsors, Tampa Bay inventors, Tampa Bay Mini Maker Faire, Toys, Young Makers

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Are You Ready?

Posted on December 29, 2012 | Leave a comment

We are!  Maker applications and ticket sales go live January 2, 2013!  Click here to see what we’re looking for in Maker applications, for a head start on your application.   We’re deeply grateful to our event partners, The Concourse, Pasco County Libraries and Learning is for Everyone, and to our fantastic event planning team who will be working behind the scenes to do everything possible to help Make Your Day, at Tampa Bay Mini Maker Faire 2013

2013 event flyer

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Posted in Artists, Craftspeople, DIY, DIY Fun, Entrepreneurs, Florida Inventors, Hobbysts, Inventions, Make, Makers, Mini Maker Faire, Model Makers, Music, New technology, Radio, RC, Robotics, ROV, Sponsors, Tampa Bay inventors, Tampa Bay Mini Maker Faire, Toys, Young Makers

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11 Year Old Florida Inventor’s Pezo Pal Wins Creative Child Magazine’s Toy of the Year Award

Posted on December 10, 2012 | Leave a comment

William GeorgesThe Sun Sentinel reported recently on young inventor, William Georges, an 11 year old who’s toy invention just won Creative Child Magazine’s Toy of the Year Award.  According to  his family, the Sentinel reports, when  Georges was just 6 years old he stuck his mother’s MP3 player through a hole in his old Teddy bear and said, “I just invented my first toy, Mom.”

Things have progressed considerably since then, with the now incorporated Pezo Pal’s first shipment of 2,000 bears arriving from China last month,  preloaded with 24 hours of songs, stories and lessons for kids 3 and older.

“I love to design real things that are useful for people,” Georges says on the Pezo Pal website.

“Pezo” means “play” in Greek,  which George’s speaks in addition to English.  The bears are customizable, allowing kids to “build their Pals anyway they want by downloading the coolest music or adding MP3 audio files anytime! My mission was to invent a toy that allows children to express themselves!”

“Children are better at making toys than adults,”  Georges told the Sentinel. Point taken.

 

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Posted in Contests, Florida Inventors, Inventions, Toys, Young Makers

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TBMMF Sponsor, Gabotronics, Launches Xprotolab Portable Oscilloscope on Kick-Starter

Posted on October 19, 2012 | Leave a comment

Gabotronics, owned and operated by Gabriel Anzziani, of Sarasota, who was a sponsor participant at inaugural Tampa Bay Mini Maker Faire in March as a commercial Maker,  has just launched his Xprotolab Portable Oscilloscope on kickstarter in a bid to bring his creation to market.

The Xprotolab is a portable combination of three electronics instruments: an oscilloscope, a waveform generator and a protocol sniffer.  The Xprotolab was awarded as one of the 100 Hot Products of 2011, by the EDN magazine. The Xprotolab has been featured in several other online magazines, such as Hack a Day and Elektor.

You can see specs at Gabotronics Kick-Starter page , where you can also pledge your support.

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Posted in Entrepreneurs, Florida Inventors, Inventions, Sponsors

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Space Coast Maker Makes News at DNC

Posted on September 7, 2012 | Leave a comment

69 year old Cate Vincent made her way up to Charlotte to the DNC convention this week to showcase her DIY job creation spirit, with her iPad handle invention, reports WINK News.

Vincent told WINK her invention not only got the attention of Apple, but has created jobs.

“I live on the Space Coast in Florida where there are no jobs now, and we’ve already put 30 people to work,” Vincent said.

Let’s hear it for a DIY inspired economy!

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Posted in Craftspeople, DIY, Entrepreneurs, Florida Inventors

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