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We have some attendance numbers from Maker Faire Austin, TX - as well as from the past few Maker Faires...
But first we want to say that everyone at MAKE & CRAFT is so proud of everyone involved, it's hard work to put on these Maker Faires - from the team at MAKE & CRAFT to the hundreds makers that spend their time over 2 days talking to tens of thousands of people, the makers out there are amazing. It's stunning to see what has happened over the last few years, MAKE is just 4 years old, CRAFT just 2 year old and Maker Faire is also just 2 years in - we've seen a lot of good things come out of the world of making, from people starting businesses making things to schools/parents/communities working towards more science, engineering, arts and crafts in their daily lives.
It's like an investment in society, we're just starting to hear about some of the seeds sprouting up - parents telling us their kids picked up MAKE or went to a Maker Faire a few years ago and now they're going off to school to be engineers and scientists. Folks working full time on a business they started by selling their crafts at a Maker Faire. We have tons of work ahead and we're not letting up, the makers out there aren't slowing down either. So as 2008 comes to a close soon we wanted to personally thank everyone who has ever attended a Maker Faire and every single maker for helping create one of the best events and movements out there.
Maker Faire attendees
2006: Bay Area, CA - 22,000
2007: Bay Area, CA - 45,000
2007: Austin, TX - 20,000
2008: Bay Area, CA - 65,000
2008: Austin, TX - 32,000
So, what's next? We get asked about Maker Faire's in other cities and countries - we're working on that! If you know great companies that want to be part of changing the world through science, engineering, arts and crafts please let us know. A lot of where we go and what we can do will depend on the sponsors and partners we can work with. We're also working on smaller versions of Maker Faires, from events like "American Maker" to our teams working with events out there that are in the maker world. Everyone talks about the dire need for more math, science, engineering and art for the next generation - Maker Faire is just one of the ways we can accomplish this.
For the month of November we'll have a video each week on Friday with some highlights and fun from Maker Faire Austin, TX 2008. Here's the first one if you want to check it out...
Happy making!
