An array of tech enthusiasts, engineers, woodworkers, metal workers, glassblowers, blacksmiths, artists, teachers and craftspeople from all over the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area will descend upon George Mason University’s Fairfax Campus on Sunday for the sixth annual Maker Faire NoVa.
The event, which will be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., will provide an opportunity for local makers to showcase their work.
There will be an interactive Maker Education speaker series and 150 maker exhibits, including robotics, electronics, programming, woodworking, fiber arts and many others.
This year, Maker Faire NoVa is partnering with the SmartPhilm Festival, which is a film festival for films shot and edited entirely on smartphones. Screenings will be held in the 300-seat Cinema on the lower level of the Johnson Center.
Mason’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the School of Business are hosting the event and serving as its on-campus sponsor. The faire will be held indoors and outdoors, spread out among different venues at the MIX@Fenwick, the Johnson Center and the Hub.
“It’s a huge opportunity for our student makers at Mason to showcase their talent and ideas,” said Rebecca Howick, the program manager for the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. “It’s also a great way for the students that are entrepreneurially minded to connect with their future customers in our community.”
Among the other groups and organizations poised to participate are the Patriot Pollinator Coalition, Mason’s College of Science, the Mason Textile and Fiber Arts Guild, the Mason Math Maker Lab, Mason Baja, Mason Community Arts Academy and the Mason Game and Technology Academy. Each group looks to show what they have made and what they have learned.
Tickets can be purchased at Eventbrite.com. Mason students, faculty and staff will receive free admission with valid identification. Free parking will be available at the Rappahannock and Shenandoah parking garages.
Maker Faire NoVa is produced by Nova Labs, a community nonprofit makerspace in Reston. Maker Faire originated in 2006 in the San Francisco Bay Area as a project of the editors of Make: magazine and has since grown into a significant worldwide maker faire movement. Last year, nearly 1.8 million people attended a maker faire.