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For 2017, the Hamilton Mini Maker Faire has got itself a brand new website! For all the info on our upcoming Faire and beyond, visit us at hamilton.makerfaire.com.

Wow! We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who helped make our 2016 Hamilton Mini Maker Faire a success! June 26th was a HOT day, but the weather didn’t keep us from having a great time! This year’s Faire featured over 45 fantastic makers, exhibitors, vendors, performers and workshops – from rocket building, to costume and prop making, to 3D printers, theremins, miniature trains, a musical playground, print-making, robotics, chemistry-inspired stationary, and so much more.

Special congratulations go to our 2016 “Best In Show” winner, Farrell’s Props , for their amazing interactive prop-making workshops!

Thank you to the City of Hamilton and to staff at the Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology, who were wonderful hosts and partners for this event. Thanks also to our wonderful sponsors:

Arcelor Mittal Dofasco Hamilton; Shop 3D; Carstar Collision & Glass Service; Alexanian Carpet/Flooring/Window Coverings; Barclay Construction Group; Gingro Construction Inc.; BDI Canada Inc.; Stonex Granite & Quartz; Mohawk College; Applied Industrial Technologies; RP Heating  Plumbing; & Copydog

We will see you all in 2017; until then, we will leave you with some great photos of our 2016 Mini Maker Faire:

The 2nd Annual Hamilton Mini Maker Faire is less than 24 hours away!   We can’t wait to share what Hamilton’s Maker Community has put together.   It’s going to be a fantastic day!   Read on to get directions for tomorrow’s event.

When to Come:

The Faire runs from 11am to 5pm.   Visitors are welcome to arrive any time, and stay for as long as they like.    Come for a picnic!   Bring your own food, or buy from our food trucks, True North BBQ, Urban Express, Crazy Burrito and Foundry Ice Cream.

Don’t miss performances on our Wood Shed Stage at 12:30 and 2:00 pm.

The Museum will be conducting tours of their 70 ton steam engines all day.

In the event that it rains on the day of the event, the Mini Maker Faire will still take place.

2016 Hamilton Maker Faire Museum Site Map

Getting Here:

By Car

The Hamilton Mini Maker Faire is being graciously hosted by the Museum of Steam and Technology on 900 Woodward Ave.    Free parking will be off-site at Globe Park, at the North East end of Brampton St.   Thank you to Thomas Solutions for providing free, continuous shuttles between Globe Park and the Museum grounds

There will also be on-site parking available for a $5 fee.  (the fee will be waived for cars with handicap passes).   On-site parking is limited however, so once the lot is full, able-bodied visitors may be asked to park at Globe Park.

Museum and Parking Road Map. Click to see in Google Maps.

By Bike

Woodward Ave. has bike lanes running North-South.   Connect from the West by travelling along the Cannon St Cycle Track to Britannia, then Maclaren, then Woodward.   From the South, use the Red Hill Creek Trail to get to the East end of Brampton St, then take Brampton to Woodward.   From Burlington, Grimsby or anywhere along the waterfront, use the Waterfront Trail to connect to the QEW pedestrian bridge, then South to Brampton St along the Red Hill Creek Trail.

By Transit

HSR Route numbers 4 and 11 pass by the site.   Check timings with the HSR Route Planner (enter 900 Woodward Ave as the destination)

What to Bring:

• Your electronic tickets if you pre-registered.   If you haven’t yet, click here to get a free ticket!   Our volunteers will stamp the hands of those guests who arrive with a ticket, after which you are free to roam the site.    Those visitors who do not pre-register will be asked to sign a safety waiver before entering.
• Cash for the awesome food and shopping
• Hat and/or sunscreen, if you plan on being outside
• A water bottle.  Refill stations will be available
• An umbrella, just in case
• Your imagination and passion – Maker Faires are about celebrating Hamilton’s Artist, Maker and Hobbyist communities, and  learning how to get involved.   Talk to our exhibitors and have fun!

If you have any further questions, feel free to contact us .    See you Sunday!

If you are coming to the 2016 Hamilton Mini Maker Faire, let me tell you…you are in for a very special treat. Join us at the Woodshed Stage for some fantastic live performances and presentations! See the stage schedule below:

Woodshed Stage (Exhibit Hall B)

12:30pm – The Vaudevillian 

Hamilton’s award-winning 1920’s ragtime-blues-jug band will be joining the Maker Faire on stage! Trust us – you want to catch this phenomenal act.

2:00pm – Making Music From Thin Air: Theremin Demonstration with Myke Hutchings

Myke Hutchings will explain the science behind the first electronic instrument and the only instrument played without physical contact – the theremin!

3:45pm –  Hamilton Mini Maker Faire Awards Ceremony

Join us to celebrate our makers and announce the “Best in Show” winners!

You asked, we deliver –  by popular demand, the 2016 Hamilton Mini Maker Faire will feature a Maker Marketplace with a selection of creative vendors! Talk to the makers and bring some goodies home with you. The Marketplace will be located inside the Boilerhouse building at the Museum of Steam and Technology, Sunday June 26th. Check back often for the most up-to-date list of vendors!

Maker Marketplace Vendors:

Happy Bees Apiary – Local honey, beeswax candles, and honey-products!

The Kinder Way Cosmetics – Small Batch Skin Care

The Chemist Tree – chemistry-inspired goods, including posters, stationary, and buttons and totes!

The Divine Shortbread Cookie Company – small batch shortbread cookies, baked with locally sourced ingredients

Blind Pig Press – Private printing press from Grimsby, Ontario, with limited edition letterpress broadsides, posters, and handbound journals & sketchbooks

Maker Junior – Maker kits and educator supplies

Robot Playtime selling DIY Robot Kits

Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology Gift Shop – Educational toys and souvenirs

Hammer City Makers Swag Shop – Maker Faire Memories and Souvenirs!

blingpig Press

Happy Bees Apiary

The Divine Shortbread Company

The Chemist Tree

Can’t hold it in any longer – we are uber excited to announce our exhibitors at the 2016 Hamilton Mini Maker Faire! Come to the Museum of Steam and Technology June 26th to meet with and learn from these great makers. The list is still growing, so check back often for the most up-to-date list!

Urban Hamilton Artists: Laser Cutting and Engraving

Maker Wiz: Project World Heritage 3D Printing

Onion Omega: The Invention Platform for the Internet of Things

Bookscan: The World’s First automated bookscanner

Robot Playtime: An interactive robot that teaches the essentials of programming and robotics!

Hamilton Advanced Additive Manufacturing, displaying their 3D-printed Thomas the Tank Engine!

New Life Robotics – Exploring and Advancing the Possibilities of Robotics

Maker Junior – An Interactive Musical Playground

Farrell’s Props – A fantastic 14-year-old prop maker

BotFeeder – 3D Printing Technology

ORD Solutions Inc – Canadian-Made 3D Printers

Legendor – Elaborately designed dice

Mohawk College Additive Manufacturing Resource Centre – Metal 3d Printer

Hamilton Tool Library – sharing tools and skills in Hamilton!

Homemade RC Planes – remote control airplanes made from scratch

360° Audio – Audio-only Virtual Reality

Golden Horseshoe Live Steamers – Builders of miniature locomotive trains, providing free rides along the Steam Museum railway tracks!

Artist Blacksmith Brad Allen – blacksmith demonstrations

VIRGIL – The Robotic Helper 

CNC Laser & Router Capabilities

think|haus – Hamilton’s Hackerspace!

Confederation Marine Modellers – Radio-controlled model boats in a man-made pond

 Hammertown Industrial  – custom Hamilton-inspired metal and wood furniture and designs

Sienci Mill One – desktop milling machines!

Hamilton Model Engineering Club – Engines in Miniature

Clockwork Hammer – Hamilton Steampunk Society

Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology – offering tours of the 1859 Waterworks

Hamilton Children’s Museum – fun with big blue blocks!

MakeShift Robotics : FRC Competitive Robot Demo

Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair

Red Tree Artists Collective – Just Print It! Printmaking Workshop

CELT-X Robotics Team Demonstration

Rocking Rockets – Rocking Building Workshop

Hamilton Water

Hamilton Public Library Mini Makerspace

Clockwork Hammer – Hamilton’s Steampunk society

SONY DSC

With more than 30 exhibitors registered, this year’s Maker Faire promises to be our biggest yet!   Join us at the Museum of Steam & Technology on Sunday, June 26 to see what Hamilton’s most creative, entertaining and engaging “makers” have been up to.    Build boats, fire rockets, drive robots, ride trains, and learn how to build it all yourself!  Food trucks, water stations, picnic areas, and washroom facilities will be provided, and the museum’s enormous steam engine will be open for tours, so visitors can stay all day.

The Faire runs from 11 am to 5 pm.  Parking is available for free at Globe Park (East end of Brampton St) with shuttle, or on the Museum grounds for a fee.  Bike parking, and HSR bus service are available.  Admission is free, and all ages are welcome.     See you there!

Do YOU have what it takes to be one of the exhibitors at the 2016 Hamilton Mini Maker Faire? Take our quiz to find out!

1)Do you like awesome things?      □ Yes            □No

2)Are you any of the following things (check all that apply):

□  A Maker                   □  A Crafter

□ An Engineer            □ A Tech Enthusiast

□ A Tinkerer                □ A Hobbyist

□ An Engineer             □ An author

□An Artist                     □ A scientist

□ An Educator              □ A Designer

If you answered “Yes” to Question 1, and checked any of the boxes in Question 2, we want YOU to apply to exhibit at the Hamilton Mini Maker Faire on June 26th, 2016. Fill out our application here! 

Hamilton’s FIRST Maker Faire Event was held on June 21st, 2015 at the Hamilton Museum of Steam and Technology and IT WAS STELLAR. We didn’t know quite what to expect our first year out…but with your help, the Hamilton Mini Maker Faire drew the biggest one-day crowd to the Steam Museum – ever!

It would seem that Hamilton really is a town that loves to celebrate Makers.

We are very excited to announce our plans for the 2nd Annual Hamilton Mini Maker Faire, which will be held on Sunday June 26th!

Until then…we invite you to bask in the warm glow of these highlights from the 2015 Hamilton Mini Maker Faire!

Battle Robots!

Model boats

Fire horn at the 2015 Hamilton Mini Maker Faire

Exhibitors inside the historic 1913 Waterworks Building, at Hamilton Steam and Technology Museum

Tours of the original steam engines that powered Hamilton’s First Waterworks

Radio-controlled model boats

Hamilton’s first Maker Faire, held at Hamilton Steam and Technology Museum

Exhibitors at Hamilton’s first Maker Faire, held at Hamilton Steam and Technology Museum

Interactive Art Car

Rocket launches at Hamilton’s first Maker Faire, held at Hamilton Steam and Technology Museum

3D Printing at Hamilton’s first Maker Faire, held at Hamilton Steam and Technology Museum

Of course – free miniature train rides!