Lake County News-Sun |

Virtual Maker Faire features creators of robots, 3D printers and more: ‘Making things makes me phenomenally happy’

Daniel Power remembers the first thing he made with a 3D printer. It was a simple ball.

These days, he’s making 3D printers out of 3D printers, and a whole lot more.

The Vernon Hills resident is participating in the College of Lake County-sponsored Virtual Maker Faire on Saturday.

Power is studying mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin at Parkside. But he’s made some time to produce show-and-tell items for the event, including the 3D printers he creates.

“Making things makes me phenomenally happy,” he said.

The free online fair invites the public to register for a host of activities, from robotic competitions to demonstrations on making a Baby Yoda light-up circuit card.

“Maker Faires have been going on, especially in the Midwest, for quite a while” said Power, a Vernon Hills High School graduate.

“They are always a sight to behold,” he said. “There are so many different people across the country bringing all the projects they put together. I’m quite amazed by all of this.”

Recent examples of Maker Faire projects across the country include a Sharkmobile and a kinetic sculpture.

Power said, “It’s absolutely fantastic that CLC is having the fair.”

Jan Edwards, co-chair of the engineering department at CLC, is the fair’s producer.

“A Maker Faire is about anybody who makes, but it’s specifically a little bit more high-tech than a craft fair,” she said. “It’s the idea of instead of grabbing standard tools like a saw, and cutting something out manually, you can use digital technology to program the design into the computer and have a machine cut it out according to your plans.”

In other words, move over knitting needle and yarn. People today are making things a bit more involved and complicated than a knit sweater.

“It’s not just about learning the theory,” added Edwards, who teaches a class at CLC on how to make almost anything. “It’s also about having hands-on experience, the ability to put the theory into practice.”

She works with students at CLC’s Baxter Innovation Lab, which opened in 2019. Power said it’s difficult to find a place like the Innovation Lab that provides a number of different machines and tools in one place.

At the lab, students and community members can use power tools, hand tools, 3D printers, lasers and more. Power has worked at the lab to teach beginning “makers” ways to use the tools.

Edwards said CLC scheduled a Maker Faire last spring, but due to the pandemic it didn’t work out. “We re-evaluated and thought, let’s take advantage of the virtual format to keep in contact with the community and get a sneak peek into other people’s spaces,” she said.

Edwards was referring to local libraries that have their own maker spaces for the public. For example, The Zion-Benton Public Library has what’s called the Sandbox Maker Space, which offers tech-lovers various machines to make things.

The library will have a virtual demonstration at the online fair on creating robotic versions of scenes from Harry Potter movies. The public can see ways to use what’s called a Hummingbird Bit Robotics Kit.

Dain Elman, STEM coordinator at Viking Middle School in Gurnee, put together a virtual show for the fair of a play his students created. They set up their own recording studios at home with green or blue screens, and their own devices to film their own parts, according to Elman. More than 120 video clips were assembled with background and sound effects, he said. The entire show, called “Land of Forgotten Toys,” can be viewed online during the Maker Faire.

Fair attendees also can view high school students competing with robots they created that shoot pingpong balls at a target. Viewers can ask questions during the event.

People also can follow along with online demonstrations on making things. One demonstration includes two items found around the house — a Popsicle stick and rubber band to make a catapult. Other more-complicated items, like the Baby Yoda light up paper circuit card, require kits, which registrants could obtain for free from the college. Those kits are already gone, Edwards said.

Power’s Maker Faire project includes photos and writings about his creations. “Yo dawgs,” he wrote on his presentation. “Heard you liked 3D printers, so I used a 3D printer to 3D print parts to make 3D printers.”

Power said his parents have been great at letting him spread out all his paraphernalia for making things on the living room floor. He and a small circle of friends meet regularly to work on projects together and share ideas.

“I enjoy the variety of experiences,” he said. “We’ll talk or call online, and share our screens while we work.”

Some of his projects include creating a toy light saber. “I absolutely adore the laser,” he said.

Lately he’s been using fabric with the 3D printer.

“This was something spectacular for me to try out,” Power said. “I don’t know if anybody else thought it was cool. Everybody finds different things to make they think are cool.”

There will be plenty for people to see at the virtual fair, he said.

“People will get inspired and learn something new,” Power said.

As of April 10, more than 100 people had registered, according to Edwards.

For more information, visit https://lakecounty.makerfaire.com.