More than 70 inventors displayed their unique products over the weekend at Reno’s Mini Maker Faire.
Solar-roasted coffee and a mechanical squid are just two of the products that were displayed in Idlewild Park. It’s the first year that the Mini Maker Faire has joined forces with Artown.
“It’s part science fair, part county fair, part something entirely new,” said the fair’s executive producer, Chrissy Klenke. “It’s a unique event that celebrates the DIY culture. If you think about it, everyone is a maker in one way shape or form.”
Maker fairs are events where local inventors and tinkerers can share what they’ve created, as well as show other people how to make products for themselves.
Inventor Eric Bradford was at the event. By paying monthly dues, he has access to a maker space, where he can use a variety of expensive tools which help him create his products.
“Sometimes you also want to build stuff as part of business development,” Bradford said. “So you try stuff out, you build it real easily, it’s an inexpensive way to do a lot of prototyping real quickly.”
For sculptor Barry Crawford, who created the mechanical squid, being a maker goes beyond simply putting parts together.
“There may be something hidden inside your brain that nobody else is going to have,” he said. “If you don’t put it out there, you know, it may be gone forever.”
There is another Mini Maker Faire planned for next summer.
As a note of disclosure, KUNR is a media sponsor of Artown.