For the 12th time the annual Maker Faire took place in San Mateo, in the heart of Silicon Valley. And like the other years it was extremely inspiring and exhausting at the same time, but in a positive sense. From light installations, music, big-ass battle robots, Steampunk fashion, food workshops, drone fights and fire installations visitors could also listen to Tesla coils making music and craft workshops for the youngest visitors. And visitors cannot only test all tools and kits at the fair, but also purchase them.

My own big haul consisted of three kits: a Raspberry Pi 3, a soldering kit for beginners (I had that on my bucket list for quite some time), and a Clean Energy from Mud-kit, which demonstrats how you can create electricity from mud and some micro-bacteria. In addition I acquired some books that include many maker project ideas and also convey the projects in an unusual form: with cartoons.

Even if there are Maker Faires now in over 190 cities globally, San Mateo remains the flagship event with over 150,000 visitors and 1,300 exhibitors. The visitors came from over 50 countries and its astonishing how many children are not only attending, but among the exhibitors.

To get an impression of the Maker Faire, here is a video with a collection of highlights, as well as a collection of pictures that I snapped today.