Making Makers

Jun 6, 2016 | Events, Features

The Maker Faire takes place every spring at the San Mateo Event Center. It is an opportunity for makers from various places to gather and share what they have built, from giant 3D printers to cities built out of legos. Even though Nueva doesn’t sponsor the Maker Faire, it does encourage many of the mindsets that Nueva students are encouraged to have. Being creative and thinking outside of the box are just two of the many mentalities that the Maker Faire encourages. We are lucky enough to be right next to the San Mateo Event Center, so it is easy for Nueva students to attend the event.

Following the Nueva tradition, the Advanced Architecture class designed a booth that will display many Nueva projects. This year, the booth is made out of various crates and recycled materials. Megan W., an architecture student, explains that the booth is made out of the crates because their “class is really about different ways to do things cost effectively.” She also adds, “Derek, our architecture teacher, wanted us to know what building with component materials was like.” Designing and building the booth proved to be a challenge, but the architecture students harnessed their design thinking skills and built a truly spectacular display.

Designing and building the booth proved to be a challenge, but the architecture students harnessed their design thinking skills and built a truly spectacular display.

After school on Friday, students eagerly headed over to the Maker Faire. Anticipation had been building all week, since some of the booths and festivities were visible from the campus. Arielle M. said, “this was my first time and I’ve always wanted to go but haven’t until now.” Students like Arielle appreciated that Nueva paid for students’ tickets, so that they could go to the Maker Faire without having to worry about cost. Many students had so much fun that they returned over the weekend with their families.

Students discovered many interesting projects on display at the Maker Faire. Sydney S. said that some of her favorite parts of the Maker Faire were “the six legged robot thing the size of a car and the drone races with quadcopters built for speed.” Maya F. agreed with Sydney. She added, “I thought the drones were super awesome!” Cindy J., another tenth grader, said that her favorite part was “a piano in the dark room that had LED lights for every string and when you pressed a key, that string would light up.” It was an exciting weekend for many Nueva students and families, and they look forward to next year.