This weekend was Maker Faire at Union Station in Kansas City and my daughter and I happily attended. To be honest, it was more of the same from last year – 3D printers, robotics, Arc Attack, and artisians of various forms and varieties. But we enjoyed ourselves, and were pleased to see some new chainmaille vendors, and some sort of hand-to-hand combat demos going on outside the Station.
One interesting booth was the Urban Farming Guys, which was a demonstration in aquaponics. I hardly know how to explain it, but it was cool. They had this planter with a large water tank beneath it. Tilapia fish in the tank poop in the water, then the poop water feeds the plants above. The plants filter the water through their roots, and it cycles back down to the fish tank. When the fish get big enough, you can eat them. A complete recyclable system. Very interesting.
Other interesting booths/displays: a woman who made art from junk mail, numerous 3D printers and “printed” items, a Titanic ship made from Legos, a solar-powered car, robotics demos, and a craft gallery with lots of jewelry, knitting, and chainmaille examples.
Links of Interest:
- Maker Faire KC
- Arc Attack – Musical Tesla coils
- Urban Farming Guys
- More convention posts at GeekCrafts
You must have missed us at the henna booth. Lots of geeky fun there. Henna is a sustainable crop without the tilapia poop. ( I wish we got time to explore the faire, there was so much going on, so many amazing things!) :)
The fighters out front were KC Dagorhir. They fight every Sunday in Grandview and in Shawnee Misson. Wonderful group of people! The weapons are handmade of foam and usually pvc or a solid core. Most make their own armor and clothing. Usually when it is not so hot they fight until they are too tired to fight anymore. Today was just too hot to be out fighting a lot.
I will make sure they see your blog mentioning them, they will be tickled and ego stroked.
:)
I actually stopped by the henna booth and picked up a brochure – wish I had seen some henna applications in process! I know some friends that got some work done – they were very pleased! :)
Thanks for the info on the fighting group, too!