OCC to host Maker Faire event at SRC Arena in early April

ONONDAGA, N.Y. — Onondaga Community College’s (OCC) SRC Arena will host Central New York’s inaugural Maker Faire in early April.

The event is set for April 2 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., OCC said. Event organizers estimate the Maker Faire will attract more than 150 “makers” and 1,000 attendees.

A Maker Faire is a gathering of “fascinating, curious” people who enjoy learning and “who love sharing what they can do,” the community college said in a release. From engineers to artists to scientists to crafters, Maker Faire is a venue for these “makers” to show hobbies, experiments, and projects.

OCC said it is looking for do-it-yourselfers (DIYers), hobbyists, tinkerers, crafters, scientists, robotics experts, and artists. Anyone interested in participating in the inaugural Maker Faire Syracuse can sign up at the event’s website at https://syracuse.makerfaire.com. The deadline to sign up is March 1.

Event organizers need volunteers to help set up, guide attendees, clean up, and assist with dozens of other tasks, the community college said.

About the event

Onondaga Community College and the Technology Alliance of Central New York present the Maker Faire.

The Maker Faire planning committee includes members from many local organizations and higher-education institutions. They include Syracuse University, Le Moyne College, OCM BOCES, Central New York Library Resource Council, and several librarians and staff members from the Onondaga County Public Libraries system.

Mike Cimino of the Fayetteville Free Library and Pauline Shostack of OCC’s Coulter Library are co-producing the event.

“We’re excited about creating the region’s first Maker Faire. Our goal is to provide a STEAM hands-on learning experience in a festival-type atmosphere,” said Shostack.

STEAM is short for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.

The Maker Faire originated in 2006 in the San Francisco Bay area as a project of the editors of Make magazine. It has since grown into a “significant worldwide network of both flagship and independently-produced events,” OCC said.