Washington, DC—The Maker Movement returns to Washington, D.C., this summer as the Institute of Museum and Library Services, in collaboration with the Congressional Maker Caucus, hosts a free celebration of making on Capitol Hill. The second annual IMLS Capitol Hill Maker Faire, on June 21, will explore trends and drivers of the Maker Movement. It is part of a citywide slate of activities that includes the White House National Week of Making (link is external), June 17-23, and the National Maker Faire (link is external), June 18-19.
“We are delighted to again to present the Capitol Hill Maker Faire with the Congressional Maker Caucus. Museums and libraries are squarely at the forefront of the Maker Movement. It fits naturally with their work to provide informal self-directed, collaborative, and iterative learning opportunities and to encourage creativity and innovation,” said IMLS Director Dr. Kathryn K. Matthew.
“The Capitol Hill Maker Faire is an opportunity for Makers from across the nation to share their projects and stories with Members of Congress. It is always inspiring to learn about the different ways Makers are improving our communities and providing students with hands-on educational experiences.” said Congressman Mark Takano of California, co-chair of the Maker Caucus. “Last year’s inaugural event was an awesome display of creativity and innovation, and I expect this year’s Faire will continue that tradition.”
The day kicks off with a panel series featuring national Maker leaders, as well as representatives from the libraries, museums, academia, and the private sector on the cutting edge of the movement. A highlight of last year’s event, the panels are again expected to draw standing-room-only crowds. Members of the public, members of Congress, and Congressional staff interested in attending should reserve their seats early.
The evening faire will feature approximately 30-40 exhibitors with hands-on displays, such as robots, crafts, 3D printers, and other new manufacturing tools. It is free and open to families and the public, but registration is requested.
Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
