CAPTURING LIGHTNING
Milwaukee Maker Faire attracts thousands
A close encounter with lightning is scary, but a lot of people witnessed “lightning in a box” Saturday at Maker Faire, a showcase of technology, contraptions and odd stuff at State Fair Park.
The two-day event, which continues from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, allows inventors and artists to swap ideas and show their work to the rest of us. It’s co-hosted by Betty Brinn Children’s Museum and the nonprofit Milwaukee Makerspace, in collaboration with MAKE magazine.
As for lightning, Jeff Whitehouse of Madison simulated it in a box housing a microwave-oven transformer and some switches. The flash of fire produced from 30,000 volts burned a pattern in scrap wood set in the box.
Whitehouse got a different artistic burn pattern from every piece of wood he zapped.
“There is no way to predict lightning’s path twice or even once. We are allowing the electricity to do its own thing,” he said.
“It’s cool. It’s fun, and the kids love it.”
Whitehouse is with Sector 67, a Makerspace workshop in Madison that gives people access to a wide variety of equipment, from 3-D printers and laser cutters to sewing machines and wood lathes.
Like other Makerspace shops, Sector 67 encourages creativity in hands-on projects.
Put another way, “We make weird and exciting stuff,” Whitehouse said.
This year’s Maker Faire has 225 exhibitors and is expected to attract about 50,000 spectators.
“We do it because we really feel it expands our educational mission of hands-on learning,” said Carrie Wettstein, chief operating officer of the Brinn Children’s Museum.
“Project-based learning has been shown to provide a deeper and more meaningful learning experience. And it’s a blast. We love doing this.“
Robots were everywhere at Maker Faire, including a replica of R2-D2, from the movie “Star Wars,” built by Steve Schmidt of Milwaukee.
Schmidt is with R-2 Builders Club, a loosely connected but global group that builds replicas of droids from Star Wars.
A software designer, Schmidt has spent three years building his droid, including a few makeovers.
“First and foremost, my wife and I wanted R2 in our house because we love Star Wars so much. He sits in our living room and every time we walk by we pat him on the head,” Schmidt said.
In Star Wars, the little droid is a colorful character in a cylindrical frame. He has a half-sphere head that rotates with chirps, whistles and beeps. But unlike R2 in the movie, the replicas are more sophisticated.
“Our droids are real working robots, while the one in the movie was essentially a wagon that someone was pulling on and off screen