TAKE YOUR SHOW ON THE ROAD: TRAVELLING MAKER FAIRS

 Maker Fairs in the library are a great way to attract multiple demographics at one time -- whether children, parents, or even teens! Creativity coupled with risk-free exploration and real-life results allow for Maker Fairs to be well-loved and well-attended.

Yet, times when teens would want to enjoy the Maker Fair and times when families with younger children want to attend can vary wildly. So...how exactly can you frame this type of event to aim directly at teens and make SUPER SURE that they stop by?

Take that Maker Fair to them obviously!
What specifically do I mean by that though?

Well, use those alliances with your local high schools to bring the fair to them is the simplest way to explain it. As long as you properly hype the Maker Fair, I guarantee that the schools will be JUMPING to have you visit. Case in point --> I have held a Maker Fair specifically for secondary school students at our shared public library-high school facility for the past three years. This year, the nearby Catholic high school that I've been getting close too wanted one of their own. Once this arrangement was in the books and teachers started to talking to other teachers, a third school contacted me about having their own Maker Fair!

And honestly, why wouldn't they appreciate this? Maker Fairs bring super fun activities to their students for free, teachers get the opportunity to allow their students creative growth without having to do any work, and they look amazing on social media (which reflects good on the school and the library). Meanwhile, libraries get to form personal connections with teachers at nearby schools as well as students, show off making activities that can be available at the library, and be an active member of the community.

HOW TO MAKE IT WORK (after your library/manager gives you the okay):

1. Contact your best connection at your local high school (even if it is just a random teacher). Having someone who is willing to support you to the proper players (administration) is priceless, especially to show that teachers actually want this program.
2. Have a pitch ready to go that you can send to your contact and that they can forward to the administration for buy-in and that they can then forward to rest of the school's teachers when the Maker Fair has been approved -- enticing them to participate.
3. When it comes to stations -- think low cost, high interest. You never know how many participants you have but for comparison know that I have just over 300 students participate for each single one-day-long fair. With this in mind, keeping costs down for individual activities/crafts is VITAL. (I personally am fond of finger knitting, paper quilling, DNA sequence beaded bracelets, and paper toy action figures like Cubees/Bit+). Having activities that are relatively straightforward and can be done by simply reading an instruction sheet (for most people) will definitely keep things running more smoothly and save your sanity.
4. Don't be afraid to incorporate technology and making where you can. This leads me to my promo talk (they don't pay me for this but seriously they're great) -- BLOXELS! The app itself is free and you can do EVERYTHING (design then play your own platformer video game) from that free app. You can also buy the actual Bloxel sets (relatively cheap) which allows participants to physically put blocks in a board to design their different levels before snapping a picture with the iPad to play it. If you have the students working in teams at this station, having the physical blocks really helps them think things through together instead of having one person monopolizing the iPad. Even though Bloxels seem simple, every teen that I've introduced them to LOVES them. I can barely keep the iPads charged during the full day fairs because of the students going hardcore on their game creation. Best of all, it is a maker activity that doesn't require a per person cost every time I bring it out once the initial purchase (of iPads or the physical Bloxel sets) are made.
5. Have the event in a LARGE room that you can monopolize for an entire school day. I like doing them in the library as there are plenty of tables, it is centrally located, and teacher librarians tend to be my main contacts anyway.
6. Have either your contact (if they are willing and able) forward a digital sign-up sheet to the entire school. By arranging class visits rather than just waiting for students on spare, you are guaranteed to have students come for EVERY time slot and will be able to interact with a wide range of teachers. It also keeps things a bit more organized so that you can re-set between time slots. (I like having 30 minute time slots with a max of 50 students for smaller spaces or 75 students for larger spaces, which leads to two time slots per class period at the schools in my area). How quickly time slots fill up with class visits can vary. For example, I've had fairs fill up in 2 weeks or even as quick as 2 days.
7. Packing is prepping and is INSANELY important. Your school liaison will be your biggest help for setting up; but if you shove everything into a large (or two large) suitcase/s, you will be spending valuable set-up time instructing your liaison on what goes where. Packing by using small bins (one station per bin) will make things go much faster since your liaison can just grab a bin and pull everything out on a single table. The multiple small bins can cause a headache or two when getting things into and out of your car (ask to borrow a large utility cart), but it is worth it in the long run for keeping things organized and allowing for simple set-up.
8. CONSTANT VIGILANCE! (couldn't help a Mad Eye Moody reference). Most students will have never encountered a Maker Fair before, and you'll need to offer some encouragement -- excitedly telling them to try out something you'll think that they'll like, leading them over to the station, and sitting down with them to show the activity. Also, some students simply don't understand written instructions for maker activities. You'll need to sit down and talk them through it. By keeping your eye on all the tables at once, you can use your super librarian senses to see "confused" faces or simply "lost" faces. Go to those students and escort them into Maker Fair fun personally!
9. HYDRATE! These events as full school day experiences are so, so, so tiring. You'll definitely need to collapse for the entire night at home, and making sure to keep hydrated and sit down when you can will help you make it to the finish line.