Archive for the ‘Inventors/Product Developers/Makers’ Category

3/16 Open Make Events in the San Francisco Bay Area

Friday, March 15th, 2013

Two Open Make/Young Maker events will be held this Saturday, March 16, 2013 at San Francisco Bay Area museums:

  • The Tech Museum of Innovation (San Jose) is focused on Wearable Tech
  • Lawrence Hall of Science (Berkeley) is focused on Bikes

From 12:30pm-1:30pm in San Jose, there is a Meet-the-Makers panel (bios online):

  • Grace Kim, wearable technology designer, iamgracie.com
  • Shelten Yuen, Director of R&D, Fitbit, Inc.
  • Team Folktails (Young Makers): Sydney Murphy and Ksenia Medvedev

There will also be two Young Maker events from 10:10am-12pm and 2pm-3pm. Registered Young Makers get into the museum for free on Open Make days (registration info online).

In Berkeley from 10am-2pm, workshop presenters will discuss bicycle hacks, like pedal-powered electronics and art, or learn how to fix your own bike. (See the full list of presenters online.)

The Open Make events are being sponsored by MAKE Magazine, Pixar Animation studios, and the respective museum where the event is being held.

2/16 Open Make events in the San Francisco Bay Area

Friday, February 15th, 2013

There will be two Open Make/Young Maker events being held this Saturday, February 16, 2013 at San Francisco Bay Area museums:

  • The Tech Museum of Innovation (San Jose) is focused on Flight
  • Lawrence Hall of Science (Berkeley) is focused on Games & Toy

From 12pm-1:30pm in San Jose, there is a Meet-the-Makers panel (bios online):

  • Dale Dougherty (moderator), Founder of MAKE Magazine, Maker Faire, Maker Education Initiative, and Maker Media.
  • Chris Anderson, author, CEO of 3D Robotics and founder of DIY Drones, and former editor-in-chief of Wired magazine
  • Rick Schertle, middle school teacher, MAKE Magazine contributor, and Young Makers South Bay Region Coordinator
  • Team Viper, a team of Young Makers who, for last year’s Maker Faire, raised funds on Kickstarter and built The Viper, a full-motion flight simulator based on the Sci-Fi TV series Battlestar Galactica.

There will also be Young Maker events from 10am-12pm and 2pm-3pm. Registered Young Makers get into the museum for free on Open Make days (registration info online).

In Berkeley from 10am-2pm, workshop presenters will include:

  • Jay Silver, inventor of MaKey MaKey,
  • Ignacio Zulueta, East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse – floppy-disk derby cars and pinwheels
  • Ace Monster Toys – speedy mouse trap cars
  • Young makers Elsa Rudolph-Swanson and Annabel Dudash of MUTANTS – hybrid-toy sculptures
  • Alice Brooks and Bettina Chan of Roominate – how to wire your dollhouse
  • Craig Hansen – demonstrates his finished Giant City-Bot Man X-3!
  • Young Maker CamDAX (aka Cameron Mira) – demonstrates how to generate high frequencies using his audio-modulated full-bridge Tesla coil

The Open Make events are being sponsored by MAKE Magazine, Pixar Animation studios, and the respective museum where the event is being held.

My thanks to the Exploratorium’s “The Tinkering Studio Blog” for the link to the MAKE blog article: “Two Bay Area Young Maker Events This Weekend“.

WWF Smart Gear Competition for Inventors of Fishing Gear – Deadline 6/30/09

Saturday, May 30th, 2009

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is holding its 4th Annual International Smart Gear Competition to find “innovative ideas for environmentally-friendly fishing gear. . . . The competition is searching for new designs for fishing devices that reduce bycatch, real-world fishing solutions that allow fishermen to fish ‘smarter’ by better targeting their intended catch while safeguarding the dolphins, sea turtles and other marine life often caught unintentionally.”

First prize is $30,000 US, $10,000 of which is in the form of a grant to increase the likelihood of actually developing the idea. There are two runner-up prizes of $10,000 US each.

Eligible inventors–individuals or teams–from any profession can submit entries. Only entries submitted in English will be accepted.

Neither the sponsor nor any of the judges will retain any intellectual property rights to the technology contained in the entry. However, inventors should always read all of the competition requirements to ensure that the terms are acceptable to their particular circumstances.

Electronic entries, which are preferred, must be received by June 30, 2009. Mail-in entries must be postmarked by June 30, 2009, and received by July 7, 2009.

My suggestion is to start with the competition information on the WWF Website, then go to the Smart Gear Website.

Everyday Edisons — Follow-up for Inventors

Friday, March 14th, 2008

If you want to learn more about the Everyday Edisons TV show casting call process (next is Chicago this Saturday, March 15th), be sure to check out the articles written in Stephen Key’s blog on AllBusiness.com. (To find, just search on the show title.) In those articles, Stephen interviews a past participant in the show, discusses numerous tips and strategies for pitching your idea to the judges (including how to read between the lines of the instructions on their website: http://www.everydayedisons.com) and shares insights gained from the judges and participating buyers. Some of the articles even have an audio option.

Even if you are not planning to attend this event, Stephen’s advice is still very useful to selling your idea in other situations.

Best wishes to those trying out in upcoming cities!

Inventors – Everyday Edisons TV Casting Calls

Friday, February 15th, 2008

If you are an inventor or an aspiring inventor, you might want to check out the upcoming casting call dates for the Everyday Edisons TV show (http://www.everydayedisons.com – check “Casting Calls” in “The Show” section).

Upcoming 2008 casting call dates:
– San Francisco/San Jose (California): Saturday, February 16
– Dallas: Saturday, March 15
– Chicago: Saturday April 19
– Northeast (TBD): Saturday, May 17

Be sure to scroll down and read through the “Frequently Asked Questions” section because it will help to prepare you for pitching your idea. Please direct any questions to the Everyday Edisons folks at castingcalls@everydayedisons.com and not to me, as I have no connection to the show.

This notice came from my friend Andrew Krauss, president of the Inventors Alliance (http://www.inventorsalliance.org), who will have a booth at the San Jose event. (I’ll probably be there helping out.) Inventors Alliance is a great association providing very practical advice on how to inexpensively bring your product to market.

Additionally, successful inventor Stephen Key, will be a speaker at the San Jose event. Stephen is Andrew’s partner in their other business InventRight (http://www.inventright.com), Stephen also has another great business Hot Picks USA (http://www.hotpicksusa.com) which has transformed guitar picks with cool designs into collectibles. Stephen is a great person to listen to as he is a rare combination of creativity, salesmanship, and streetwise business shrewdness.

Hope to see you there!