Maker Faire Stand

Last weekend, a handful of EWH staff made its way up to New York to attend Maker Faire. Maker Faire prides itself as being “the world’s largest DIY festival”, showcasing “inventions, creativity and resourcefulness”; this seemed like the perfect environment to spread the EWH message and run interactive Kit-building sessions!

On Friday afternoon, Julien and Alex arrived early to set up the stand (and check out our neighbors). We were placed in a tent surrounded by robotic teams, 3D printers and a healthy mixture of wacky DIY projects done in garages and backyards. Since we planned on running Kit-builds, we booked one of the larger spaces in our tent. After a relatively uneventful set-up, we tested our equipment and finally headed home to catch some (needed) sleep.

The next two days were what could only be described as controlled mayhem! We had a constant stream of kids, parents, professors and seniors interested in our stand. Professor Malkin and Melissa joined us in running the stand; the four of us just about managed to let everyone interested know what we are about. Our stand was filled with interesting kits and projects which student groups created including the bili light sensor, ESU tester, ECG patient simulator and semi-permanent ECG pads. Fortunately we had managed to get our hands on a portable ECG machine the week before; we were able to demonstrate that our kits actually work!

At our ESU tester workshop, kids and parents alike spent time learning basic soldering and circuitry skills, while also hearing more about the challenges surrounding healthcare technology in resource-poor settings. The ages ranged from young children under 10 years old to seniors! We also ran semi-permanent ECG pad workshops where participant created ECG pads from the inside lining of bottle caps and nickel snaps; they were able to measure their own heartbeat via our portable ECG machine. The younger children were amazed to find out that their bodies are driven by electricity!

Most stands at Maker Faire either showcased pretty impressive inventions or were selling new products/technologies. Our stand stood out for numerous reasons, mainly because we incorporated outreach and education into a fun environment. Rather than being more of an art, our products presented a solution to real challenges – this was something mentioned by many of our visitors.

All in all, Makers Faire was a huge success for us and we are looking forward to returning in 2012.