Maker Faire 2019

We had a great time again at the Maker Faire this year. I wasn't sure what to expect, given that I had heard rumors that this might be the final Faire ever. The Maker Faire has become such a Bay area institution - I sure hope some new sponsors step up to keep it going.  The crowds in our area seemed as large as ever - and we were certainly busier than usual when it rained outside (rain in mid-May!?).

It takes quite a lot of work to set up our booth. First, we set it all up offsite just to be sure everything fit together as expected. Then we had to tear it all down again and load it up for transportation. Then of course we had to unload and carry everything in to our booth. We reconstructed our corner walls, and hoisted our sign. Finally, last but not least (and the most fun), we built a large sculpture to fill our space.

Once we flipped the switch and started balls rolling, it felt like there was never a dull moment. At times there were crowds of 20 or 30 people watching the balls roll down.   And honestly, even at the very end of day three it gave us great pleasure to watch others enjoying our sculptures and asking questions about how we make them.   

The number one question we were asked was "How long did it take you to build that sculpture?"  The answer is: About 1.5 hours with two of us working. 

The second most-asked question was, "How many kits did you use to build that?".  The answer is that we built this particular setup with one kit, plus an extra set of straight parts.  So if you imagine subtracting half of the straight parts you see here, the result would be a slightly more compact sculpture, but with all of the essentials (conveyor, funnels, switches, tipper, chimes, spiral, etc.).  Here are a couple of images I took on a short break from the weekend.  Of course, the best way to experience Wonderstructs is in person.  I am working on stitching together some video from the weekend that I will post to our site.  Thanks again to the Maker Faire for another fantastic weekend!

-Andy