We’ve just come back from Dublin Maker 2016 where we were one of 55 maker stands showing our creations to over 10,000 visitors! We lost count of the number of creative little hands and inventive minds we had gathered around our booth. Many of these budding young inventors stayed for well over an hour at a time, creating incredible architectural structures and abstract shapes using Arckit.
The idea behind Dublin Maker 2016
The idea behind Dublin Maker 2016 was to inspire the next generation of Ireland’s makers and inventors – and to get people making. Dublin Maker is a community run event that was free to attend at Merrion Square on Saturday 23rd July. It is also one of the events associated with the Festival of Curiosity 2016, Dublin’s International Festival of Science, Arts, Design & Technology, which ran from July 21 – 24.
Teaching people of all ages how to use Arckit
Unlike many industry events, Dublin Maker took the form of a ‘show and tell’ where we could teach people of all ages how to use Arckit in a fun and friendly setting. The atmosphere was amazing and more like a carnival than a show. There was so much to do, from virtual reality to building robots, making movie special effects, studying bamboo bicycle making and craft beer brewing – even rocket launchers and a computer mouse that reads your mind.
Makers came from all over Ireland!
Unfortunately, we didn’t have much of a chance to wander around (since we were busy through the day!) but we did manage to take a peek at some of the other stands and meet makers who came from all over Ireland and beyond to present their inventions and treat the crowds to some seriously impressive demonstrations.
Ireland really has got its entrepreneurial mojo back
For us, this was yet another reminder that Ireland really has got its entrepreneurial mojo back. In fact, only recently we picked up on a recent BDO International Business Compass report that studied 74 countries across all continents and ranked Ireland in 7th place, now one place ahead of the UK, for global innovation. If you managed to attend Dublin Maker then you won’t have had to look far to meet interesting educators, engineers, scientists, artists and inventors.
Arckit Education Programme for schools
The event was also an opportunity for us to show people what we’ve been up to with our Arckit Education Programme for schools and our new series of Arckit models, both of which will be available later this year.
Once again the reaction was very positive, with much interest from teachers at both primary and secondary school level wishing to introduce Arckit to their students and eager to see our Arckit Education lesson plans, a STEM tool that introduces students and anyone considering architecture and design as a career to the fundamental design skills involved.
Parents were very impressed with the system and even more amazed to hear that Arckit is made in Ireland. It was useful for both parents and teachers to watch kids roll up their sleeves and start spontaneously exploring with Arckit at our stand. It often surprises adults just how fast children with no prior experience pick up the basic ‘click and connect’ principles and quickly progress to building advanced Arckit structures.
Checkout The fun-packed family day out
Overall, Dublin Maker 2016 was an unforgettable fun-packed family day out that has inspired us as much as the thousands who came to visit. If you stopped by our stand at the event we would love to hear from you and find out what you think to Arckit. If you missed out then make sure you head over to the Dublin Maker website for more information and put next year’s date in your calendar early. We’ll see you there!
