KSU holds “Maker Faire” in library from KentWired.com on Vimeo.

Kent State students and creators from across the state and country came together Friday to showcase their creative talents in different disciplines, including design and technology, at the second annual Kent State Mini Maker Faire.

“Maker Faires in general represent and celebrate the maker culture,” said Zach Mikrut, one of the organizers of the event and senior marketing manager at Blackstone LaunchPad. “Kent State’s maker culture is very strong.”

Makers are people who have an interest in making products, ranging from art to computer apps to theatre. The original Maker Faire was held in San Mateo, California, in 2006. Since then, maker faires have popped up across the world, including in Kent.

While the majority of participants were members of the university community, other came from out of state, including Marti Sanders, who displayed art created by artists at United Cerebral Palsy of the North Bay in California.

“The artists are people with disabilities,” Sanders said. “They have this excitement about working with the community and opening up art to anybody who’s interested.”

Both makers and participants enjoyed the variety of products and inventions at the event.

“It’s a great experience,” Adam Reis, graduate architecture major, said.

Reis and graduate appointee BoSheng Liu represented the College of Architecture and Environmental Design (CAED) and showed off their 3-D printer that recycles plastic waste material and creates new items.

Along with viewing the different creations, attendees received hands-on experience with learning technology. The Student Multimedia Studio on the first floor of the University Library offered spaces to try out 3-D printing pens and learn about electricity.

The event also hosted workshops for attendees to learn about different topics from robotics to loom knitting.

CAED, the College of the Arts, the Fashion School’s TechStyleLAB, University Libraries and Blackstone LaunchPad organized this year’s event.

Contact Alexandra Valverde at [email protected].