The future is now
And you can tech it out this weekend in Brooklyn — natch
Alove letter to the world’s fairs of yesteryear, the Worlds Fair Nano returns to New York this weekend after a smaller test run last August. The two-day festival will give visitors a peek at the future. “We’re trying to be a place where people can come and find inspiration,” says CEO Michael Weiss. Most likely, you’ll find inspiration at the fair’s Technology Playground, where you can get your hands on the hard-
ware of tomorrow. Here are five musttries that’ll bring out the sci-fi-loving kid in anyone.
Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Brooklyn Expo Center, 72 Noble St., Greenpoint; WFNano.com. $65 for a day pass, free for kids 10 and under.
1. Bionic boots!
Using a spring system, bartender/ inventor Keahi Seymour’s boots enable him to run up to 25 miles per hour. For safety reasons, you won’t be able to try them on, but you can touch them, as well as watch Seymour jet around in them like a robotic ostrich.
2. Drone games!
In the Drone Zone, you can try flying some of the more than 30 different drones, including Parrot’s Mambo minidrone, which allows you to shoot plastic pellets to knock over cups. “Totally not dangerous at all!” jokes Weiss.
3. Futuristic food!
Next to the Technology Playground, you’ll find the Future Food section, home to free edibles meant to change our world. A highlight is Intrexon’s Arctic apples, which are genetically modified to not turn brown. “Apples are one of the most wasted foods in the world, because people don’t like the sight of the brown,” says Andrew Mockridge, the fair’s director of global partnerships. “So by doing this, hopefully [we can] eliminate waste.”
4. Virtual reality!
Get strapped into Hubneo’s omnidirectional treadmill and jog in any direction to go shoot some “robots.” “You can literally run through an entire virtual world,” says Weiss.
5. Electric skateboards!
“With a normal skateboard, you have to propel yourself with your foot and get back on,” says Weiss. “It’s a lot of hard work.” The solution of the future is Mellow, whose boards are powered by a motor you control with a speed remote, while leaning your body to steer. Give ’em a spin on the fair’s 500-foot track.