Origin
Maker Faire is the public event launched by Dale Dougherty (O’Reilly Media) on 22-23 April 2006 in San Mateo, California, as a companion to Make Magazine — the quarterly founded by Dougherty in January 2005 that culturally formalised the term maker.
The format is a fair: booths from individual makers, schools, Fab Labs, hardware companies, hobbyist groups, showcasing real projects. From DIY electronics to hi-tech agriculture, from 3D printing to amateur robotics, from pedal-powered dragon vehicles (Coke Zero Mentos Geyser, flamethrower bikes, steampunk) to children’s soldering classes.
Global expansion
After the success of San Mateo 2006, the format replicates:
- Maker Faire New York (2010, World Maker Faire)
- Mini Maker Faire — small community-organised editions in hundreds of cities
- Maker Faire Shenzhen, Maker Faire Tokyo, Maker Faire Berlin, etc.
- Maker Faire Africa, Maker Faire India, Maker Faire Singapore
The peak is 2015-2017: over 200 Maker Faires per year worldwide, millions of aggregate visitors. From 2019-2020 it scales down due to financial difficulties of Maker Media (which transitions into Maker Community).
Maker Faire Rome
Maker Faire Rome — The European Edition (first edition 3-6 October 2013 at the Auditorium Parco della Musica, later moved to Fiera di Roma) is the official European edition, organised by the Rome Chamber of Commerce with Asset Camera, initially curated by Riccardo Luna (former editor-in-chief of Wired Italia). It becomes one of the largest maker events in the world, with 100,000+ annual visitors, and is the cultural reference for the Italian movement.
Recurring themes
Maker Faire aggregates communities sharing common principles:
- Evolved DIY with modern digital tools
- Open hardware and shared documentation
- Intergenerational — involvement of children (young makers)
- Cross-domain intersection — art + engineering + agriculture + biology
- STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) as an educational model
In the Italian context
Maker Faire Rome is part of the Italian innovation fabric: an annual networking opportunity for Fab Labs, schools, hardware startups, universities, progressively opened to the industrial world (Industry 4.0) and traditional tech startups. noze has participated in Maker Faire Rome editions with demos of R&D prototypes on robotics (YK-Robotics), IoT and digital health.
References: Maker Faire (22-23 April 2006, San Mateo). Dale Dougherty, O’Reilly Media. Make Magazine (January 2005). Maker Faire Rome (first edition 3-6 October 2013), Rome Chamber of Commerce, Asset Camera.