Mountain View Residents Shine At Maker Faire

Maker Faire bills itself as the world's largest do-it-yourself event in the world—and anyone who visited the San Mateo Event Center this past weekend wouldn't dare doubt that.

Booths, presentations and demonstrations filled the day both Saturday and Sunday, to the delight of the thousands of attendees.

Maker Faire isn't just for nerds, techies or science geeks—there really is something for everyone. You can learn how to do simple tasks, such as to pick a lock, sew on a button or make compost; or for the highly ambitious, learn how a rocket works.

A handful of Mountain View-ers helped to make this year's Maker Faire great.

Mountain View's own NASA Ames was on hand to spread the word about its program, the NASA Forward Maker Camp, an internal pilot project for creating a culture of experimentation. The intent is to provide venues where it's safe to experiment, make, innovate and try new things. At the Maker Faire, NASA Ames' booth was a popular one, with 3-D glasses faire-goers could try on.

Mountain View resident Randall Kirschman of Retro Electro had a great time showing off his vintage electronics and electrical parts.

Ringit Gurlich showed off her handmade leather bags and accessories.

The Mountain View-based group BioCurious introduced people to their concept of a "hackerspace for biotech," where they encourage people to collaborate and share their ideas on how to change the planet through new research in the field of biotechnology.

Jerrold Karmin of J. Karmin Projects showed off his solar-powered vehicles.

Maker Faire comes to the Bay Area each year, so if you missed it this year, be sure to mark your calendars for 2012. For more information, visit makerfaire.com.