On Saturday (the 22nd), Jon (a fellow intern at Willow) and I went to the "Maker Faire", a big DIY exhibition. There are multiple such events, and we went to the San Mateo one, which caters to the Bay Area. The fair is organized by Make Magazine and features a lot of electrical and mechanical experiments and tools.

The biggest surprise for me were the many "steampunks" who where there -- though maybe the old-style term "faire" should have already given that away. In Germany, we would most likely term them Gothics, but with a heavy bent towards mechanical (and pyrotechnical) experimentation. Obviously, girls in outfits from the way back when also draw considerable attention.

Apart from that, it was quite like such events in Europe, if maybe slightly more advances towards micro-electronics. However, in general: Many geeks, many artists, many organizations that want to attract kids to science, lego, kits, lights, the works. Here's thumbnails of the full-set, click on them for larger versions or go directly to the maker faire set on flickr.