The 4th Annual MakerX Expo is Dec 4, 2021 – designed to kick off Computer Science Education Week — bringing together a celebration of making with technology for all ages and interests. Technology features include robotics and drones, 3D printing, sci-fi cosplay/fashion tech, digital art and music, game and VR development, software and media creation, high tech transportation, and much more. CSEdWeek.org is an annual call to action to inspire people to learn computer science, advocate for equity in computer science education, and celebrate the contributions of students, teachers, and partners to the field. CSED Week runs Dec 6th – 12th.
MakerX 2021 is partnering with
- OLF (formerly known as Ohio LinuxFest) to provide in-person & virtual activities for those 12 and up in Columbus that start on Dec 3 and run through Dec 4.
- Urban City Codes to provide all ages in-person MakerX activities in Cleveland.
- The Point @ Otterbein to provide in-person open house in Columbus on Dec 4 from 12-4pm
- NCUS-TEC to provide in person open house activities in Columbus on Dec 4 from 10am – 4pm
- CS for Success & JavaScript & Friends to live stream MakerX on YouTube Dec 4 with Ready
Skill, ROTO, Case Western Rubotix, HER Academy, The Point at Otterbein, Girls Who Code, Tech Elevator, Verizon & PAST Foundation.
Due to COVID restrictions, in-person events may require tickets, or have age, vaccine status and mask requirements. Virtual activities are open to all ages.
OLF is a grassroots conference for the GNU/Linux/Open Source Software/Free Software community that started in 2003 as a large inter-LUG (Linux User Group) meeting and has grown steadily since. It is a place for the community to gather and share information about Linux and Open Source Software.
MakerX includes participation from Urban City Codes, Ready Skill, ROTO, Case Western Rubotix, HER Academy, PAST Foundation, The Point at Otterbein, Girls Who Code, Tech Elevator, Verizon, Big Kitty Labs, VR/AR Association, ACCAD, COSI, NCWIT, VR Columbus, Guessworks, STEMcoding and is sponsored by CS for Success, JavaScript & Friends, CoverMyMeds, HACKOHI/O, The Point at Otterbein, Apprenti, OSLN, CapTech, CCAD, CSCC, Hour of Code, Code.org, CSTA, OTEEA, Tech Community Coalition, TechLifeColumbus, and OLF.
“MakerX provides a fun, high-energy environment to bring together people of all ages, interests, and skill levels to spend a day interacting around creating with technology” notes Bill Ball, the event founder and former Scholar in Residence at Capital University. “It’s a chance to see close up the awesome things people in our region are doing with new technologies–from schools and universities to inventors, hobbyists, start-ups, and established corporations. It’s all about one-on-one interaction in a festival atmosphere that is organized entirely by volunteers.”
“I love the energy and the awe of Maker X. Pure joy . . . that’s what you see on the faces of Maker X attendees, whether they are 2 or 92, there’s something for everyone.
“Working with girls and STEM, I’m thrilled that events like MakerX bring lots of technology industry role models out for everyone to see how diverse the work in tech is.” said Eva Bradshaw, a planner for the event and Regional Affiliate Manager Manager for NCWIT. “When you go to MakerX you will see families and individuals interacting with lots of exciting hands-on opportunities to create tech and learn about careers.”
Evelyn Van Til, lead MakerX planner, adds that “MakerX is a unique tech event that inspires innovation across industries and education–so you see people creating solutions in VR and healthcare, gaming and the arts, robotics and coding, digital design and transit. It’s a truly remarkable event connecting up STEM ed, startups, leaders in tech and the larger community.”
For full information about the events, see:
- Event Site: www.makerx.org
- Columbus: https://olfconference.org/ & The Point at Otterbein
- Cleveland: Case Western Rubotix & Urban City Codes
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/makerXcolumbus/ @makerXcolumbus
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makerxcolumbus/ makerxcolumbus
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/makerXcolumbus @makerXcolumbus
More about MakerX:
MakerX Expo is an entirely volunteer and non-profit effort. It brings together makers from all over the region to share their work and engage the public. The core of MakerX is non-profit educational institutions in the Columbus region but the event welcomes participation by community makerspaces, other non-profits, businesses, clubs, and individuals. Fiscal sponsorship for MakerX is provided by the Tech Community Coalition.
The planning committee for MakerX 2021 consists of STEMpathy members:
Evelyn Van Til, Apprenti
Dr. William Ball, Nazareth College
Eva Bradshaw, NCWIT Regional Affiliate Manager
Heather Sherman, STEMx
Thomie Timmons, Innovation Labs Coordinator at Reynoldsburg City Schools
Dr. Andrew Breuning, Director of Bridge Programs at the PAST Foundation
Mary Schneider, Director, Central Ohio STEM Action Center
Curtis Smith, Makerspace and Laboratory Operations Manager, The Point at Otterbein University Sandy Guinto, Educator, Gahanna City Schools
David Leslie, Aerospace educator and QA Manager at CoPilot
Julia Armstrong, Director Hack OHI/O Programs at The Ohio State University
Cal King, Program Coordinator at OHI/O Informal Learning Program at The Ohio State University Kristen Gillenwater & Randy Tucker, TECHCorps – Central OH
Lena Furci, The HER Academy
Mikir Amir, Can’t Stop Columbus
Rachyl Kershaw & Warner Moore, Tech Community Coalition
Peggy Wells, Amazon
Abril Vela, CS for Success
Baskar rao Dandlamudi, JavaScript & Friends
Beth Lynn Eicher, OLF
