Milwaukee Maker Faire attracts thousands with robots, gizmos and crafts

A close encounter with lightning is scary, but a lot of people witnessed "lightning in a box" Saturday at Maker Faire, a showcase of technology, contraptions and odd stuff at State Fair Park.

The two-day event, which continues from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, allows inventors and artists to swap ideas and show their work to the rest of us. It's co-hosted by Betty Brinn Children's Museum and the nonprofit Milwaukee Makerspace, in collaboration with MAKE magazine. 

As for lightning, Jeff Whitehouse of Madison simulated it in a box housing a microwave-oven transformer and some switches. The flash of fire produced from 30,000 volts burned a pattern in scrap wood set in the box.

Whitehouse got a different artistic burn pattern from every piece of wood he zapped. 

"There is no way to predict lightning's path twice or even once. We are allowing the electricity to do its own thing," he said.

"It's cool. It's fun, and the kids love it."

Whitehouse is with Sector 67, a Makerspace workshop in Madison that gives people access to a wide variety of equipment, from 3-D printers and laser cutters to sewing machines and wood lathes. 

Like other Makerspace shops, Sector 67 encourages creativity in hands-on projects.

Put another way, "We make weird and exciting stuff," Whitehouse said.

This year's Maker Faire has 225 exhibitors and is expected to attract about 50,000 spectators. 

"We do it because we really feel it expands our educational mission of hands-on learning," said Carrie Wettstein, chief operating officer of the Brinn Children's Museum. 

"Project-based learning has been shown to provide a deeper and more meaningful learning experience. And it's a blast. We love doing this."

Robots were everywhere at Maker Faire, including a replica of R2-D2, from the movie "Star Wars," built by Steve Schmidt of Milwaukee.

Schmidt is with R-2 Builders Club, a loosely connected but global group that builds replicas of droids from Star Wars. 

A software designer, Schmidt has spent three years building his droid, including a few makeovers.

“First and foremost, my wife and I wanted R2 in our house because we love Star Wars so much. He sits in our living room and every time we walk by we pat him on the head,” Schmidt said.

In Star Wars, the little droid is a colorful character in a cylindrical frame. He has a half-sphere head that rotates with chirps, whistles and beeps. But unlike R2 in the movie, the replicas are more sophisticated.

“Our droids are real working robots, while the one in the movie was essentially a wagon that someone was pulling on and off screen by a rope or a wire," Schmidt said.

In the Makerspace tradition, R2 builders collaborate and inspire. 

"I am a woodworker who tinkers a lot," Schmidt said. "But when my wife and I went to a Star Wars convention, it was the first time we saw the R2 builders. I was like, 'How do you guys do that?'

"It's not as difficult as it looks. And you have the entire club's backing if you want to try it."

Another group, Dalek Asylum Milwaukee, set a world record at Maker Faire on Saturday for the largest gathering of "Daleks" — a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants in the British science fiction television show "Doctor Who."

More than 100 people dressed up as Daleks, putting the effort in the Guinness Book of World Records, said Amanda Sobczak, communications manager for the Brinn museum.

Friday, more than 700 area elementary, middle and high school students got a preview of  Maker Faire. Saturday, there was a high school robotics competition sponsored by FIRST, an acronym for the national group known as "For Inspiration & Recognition of Science & Technology."

Maker Faire, while largely for the technologically inclined, isn't out of reach for most people, as demonstrated by the inventors and hands-on exhibits. 

"This is a creative outlet," said Daniel Zimmerman, a hobbyist inventor demonstrating a project that automates aquarium water maintenance. 

"It's exchanges of ideas, and I happen to have my little Makerspace in my basement.

"There are so many generous people who are willing to give just for the benefit of others. ... That is what's really fun and cool."

Milwaukee Makerspace, a 16,000-square-foot workshop located in a former Krambo supermarket on S. Lenox St., has grown to nearly 300 members.

With people spending so much time using digital devices, the group says, many feel an urge to balance that by making things with their hands, too.

The workshop has 3-D printers, laser cutters and lots of tools for making jewelry, leather goods, even blacksmith projects.  Members pay $40 a month to use the equipment and space, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Sometimes inspiration comes at odd times.

"You can be in the shop at 2 in the morning. We ask that you keep the noise down for our neighbors, but that's about it," said Erich Zeimantz, a Milwaukee Makerspace member.