Innovation comes in all shapes and sizes, and from people of all ages. Inventions and contraptions of all kinds took center stage during Maker Faire 2010 at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan.
Maker Faire turned the historic grounds that feature Edison, Ford and Wright into an amusement park of futuristic ideas. Hundreds of exhibits showcased a wide variety of brainstorms from sophisticated electric and wind-assisted vehicles, to a curious solar dog house and cigar box guitar, to a wacky pneumatic Twinkie launcher.
Ford Motor Company Fund sponsored the nonprofit Arts & Scraps display called "Simple Machines: the Maker's Tools." It featured recycled household and business materials that allowed children to turn their imaginations loose in fun and creative ways.
"The kids and their families had some really great ideas. In fact, we received two Editor's Choice Awards from Make Magazine," said Peg Upmeyer, director, Arts & Scraps. "Thank you Ford for making it all possible."
Maker Faire is a celebration of the garage tinkerer and the
do-it-yourselfer. Ford and do-it-yourself based TechShop put their heads together in May at the Maker Faire event in San Mateo, California. That meeting kicked off a collaborative effort to open a workshop next year in the Detroit area that invites innovators to come and invent the next must-have in automotive technology.
