Household names join homemade crafters for UK’s flagship Maker Faire

Maker Faire returns to Newcastle with special celeb guests Andrew Smyth and regulars Ian and Thomas Beaver!

The return of Maker Faire UK – an annual two-day festival of hacking, crafting, coding, DIY and garden shed inventing presented by Life Science Centre – is always an eagerly awaited event in Newcastle, with Headline Makers that draw in crowds. But with a rare opportunity to share their skills with the public at the UK’s largest Maker Faire, the event also attracts up-and-coming talent from much further afield.

For Maker Faire UK 2017, which will be held on 1-2 April, the Headline Makers include a couple of celebrities. Andrew Smyth, a finalist in last year’s Great British Bake Off, will be baking a science-inspired cake, and Photon Storm, a robot from the US version of Robot Wars, will be causing a spectacle as it crushes various items. (We think it can handle much more than a watermelon.)

However, it’s not all TV stars (whether human or robotic) dominating the stands. Father and son team, Ian and Thomas Beaver, from Pembrokeshire have been regulars at Maker Faire UK for many years. “We first came to Maker Faire UK in 2013 when Thomas was 8 years old. We intended to visit for just half a day, but it was so amazing that we stayed the whole weekend!” said Ian.

This year Ian and Thomas will make their debut as exhibiting Makers with StrandKRAB; an intricate model crab that will be wandering around Life Science Centre throughout the weekend. The creative crustacean was built from scratch at their home and is the first of what will hopefully be many crafty critters from the pair. “We’re currently working on a new creation called StrandSiameseKAT, which has two heads, two tails and eight legs and should hopefully be making an appearance at the Faire,” said Ian.

Another exciting new Maker is 15-year-old Thanos Tziatzioulis who is travelling from his home in Athens specifically to take part in Maker Faire UK. His ingenious creation is Hand of Rob, a humanoid hand with life-like movement that he designed, 3D-printed, assembled and programmed. This will be his first trip to the UK. Thanos said: “Maker Faire UK is an excellent chance to meet and communicate with other Makers. I am very excited to have the opportunity to explore Newcastle-upon-Tyne!”

In total, more than 300 Makers will create a bustling atmosphere of creativity at Maker Faire UK. There will also be live music across the weekend curtesy of Meze Mundo, Newcastle's very own group of troubadours, and there will be entertainment on the day, too – watch out for a dinosaur and a robot roaming around the Science Centre!

Tickets for Maker Faire UK are still available to book online at www.makerfaireuk.com/buy-tickets/.