STEM Attends 2016 World Maker Faire
On October 1st, Derryfield’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineer and Mathematics) class went on a field trip to New York City to attend the 2016 World Maker Faire. The Maker Faire is an international festival for inventors, makers, and technology companies. The Faire was located within the New York Hall of Science Park, which contains over 1000 booths and spans over three acres. Anyone can buy a ticket to this event and attendees can participate in hands-on activities to help them learn some new skills. Any maker (a person who created a business based project) or inventor can open a booth and showcase their recent prototypes or products to the community.
Our STEM class went on the trip with a goal to connect with at least three inventors at the faire. In addition, STEM will try to have a Skype meeting later in the year with one inventor to learn more about their design. The World Maker Faire not only had technological inventions, but it also encompassed inventions that can be applied to agriculture and civil constructions. Every booth in this Faire had an activity where we could join and here are some of the most fascinating inventions that caught the eyes of Derryfield students!
Above: Senior Lee Sipes at the 2016 World Maker Faire in New York City.
1. Bladeless Drone
This bladeless drone was developed by Mohyal Lab in Michigan. It uses a quad turbine motor which generates airflow beneath the drone and produces power to lift it by sucking air from the top. It is stabler, more durable, and quieter than normal drones. Inventor John Mohyi expects the drone to be functional underwater!
2. Power Racing Series
This is an electric race car that was built using toy cars called Power Wheels. Every team’s car must cost under $500 to make if they would like to compete in this endurance race. The team with the most laps in a certain amount of time wins! Each team could get a new motor, a new battery, or even new tires for their car, but the car is limited to three horsepower. Teams across the country could participate with awards after each race.
This race was one of the best events to watch during the Maker Faire. The track included a ramp and, every time a car went over it, people went wild!
3. PinBox 3000
PinBox 3000 was founded on Kickstarter. It is a tabletop cardboard pinball game which the STEM class students found very entertaining when compared to some of the more typical inventions at the Faire. The user can customize their own PinBox 3000 using a kit. It was created by the professors from Cardboard Tech Institute in Maine, a summer camp organization that mainly focuses on teaching kids to build tabletop games using cardboard. Now it is on sale on Kickstarter after the company was successfully funded by 800 investors. They were able to reach their pledge goal of 95 thousand dollars on Kickstarter in order to start the project.
Above: Senior Tucker Ormiston with the PinBox 3000 at the 2016 World Maker Faire.
I was able to make a connection with this maker; consequently, our class will have a Skype meeting with the maker later this year. Many STEM students enjoyed playing with this PinBox and we all thought it was very customizable as anyone can build a different thematic PinBox machine by themselves.
Victor Li is a member of Derryfield's senior class and is a writer for Lamplighter.