Maker Faire 2019 San Mateo Best Picks: Panels, Workshops, and More

Maker Faire 2019 San Mateo hits the San Mateo Event Center May 17-19. Poised to deliver a slew of superb panels, workshops, and vendor exhibits, it should be a veritable treasure trove of learning for makers of all skill levels. We're thrilled to announce that we'll be in attendance at Bay Area Maker Faire 2019. I (Senior Editor Moe Long), will be onsite so stay tuned here at Electromaker, as well as on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for live coverage. You can follow me on Twitter for updates as well. With a massive schedule, we've narrowed down the best picks of Maker Faire Bay Area 2019! Plus, check out the full schedule!

Maker Faire Bay Area 2019 important dates:

What: Maker Faire Bay Area 2019
Where: San Mateo County Event Center 
When: May 17-19 Friday 1pm—5pm, Saturday 10am—7pm, Sunday 10am—6pm

1. Design and Making with Jen Schachter, Sophy Wong, and Estefannie Explains It All

Here at Electromaker, we love not only maker tech, but makers as well. Three of our favorite makers get together with a truly loaded panel featuring Estefannie of Estefannie Explains it All acclaim, renowned maker and designer Sophy Wong, and multimedia whiz Jen Schachter. Hear these three geniuses discuss maker tech, design, and more!

2. 3D Printing Guru Avi Reichental

Founder, CEO, and Chairman of XponentialWorks venture investment and product development team Avi Reichental has been named one of the top 25 makers reinventing the American Dream. Previously, Reichental served as CEO and president of 3D Systems. His talk on Sat. May 18, 2019 should be an enlightening discussion of 3D printing applications in fashion, business, and innovation. 

3. Maker Teams: Working For Your Favorite YouTubers

With content creation a popular means of sharing maker projects, and YouTube a prominent content sharing platform, Maker Teams: Working for Your Favorite YouTubers should be an awesome panel. Get a behind-the-scenes look at what running a maker YouTube channel entails. I Like to Make Stuff Director of Operations and Intergalactic Diplomacy Josh Price, 3D Printing Nerd editor and videographer Sean Connelly, Make or Break Show host and producer Brandon Cullum, plus freelance videographer Anthony Rose weigh in on what it's like to run operations for maker YouTube channels. 

4. DIY Arc Reactor Workshop

In addition to our passion for tech, many of us here at Electromaker love pop culture, especially movies. Notably, many of us in the Electromaker community adore Marvel flicks, and while you can totally buy your own licensed property which we encourage you to do, you may wish to try your hand at DIY superhero projects. If you've always wanted to become Iron Man, now you can (sort of). Get your Tony Stark on with a DIY arc reactor that's easy to create. Just don't deploy Ultron. 

5. Meet the World's First Micro:Bit Drone

The BBC Micro:Bit ranks among our favorite microcontrollers. Innovative maker Steinar Holoes presents the Air:Bit, the world's first Micro:Bit-powered drone. Holoes was disappointed at boredom in schools, and seeks to provide engaging STEM content for budding makers. 

6. Top Development Boards of 2019

While the Raspberry Pi is easily the most popular maker board, and one which we love dearly, it's far from the only dev board on the market. As the Electromaker 2019 Board Guide reveals, there are ample choices. Mike Senese, Senior Editor for our good friends at Make Magazine, and Digi-Key Business Ecosystem Dev. Manager Kevin Walseth break down the best development boards on the planet, with some AR flair. This is a can't-miss panel for sure.

7. IBM Watson Demo with Sony Spresense

The Sony Spresense is one of our favorite maker boards, and the good folks at Sony have teamed up with IBM for an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered agricultural demo.  While AI remains useful for a host of applications including facial recognition and natural language processing, its potential uses are far-reaching. This agricultural project proves just that, and particularly highlights its accessibility to makers. 

8. How to Use the ASUS TInker Board for Electronics Projects

Liz Clark, better known as Blitz City DIY, and author of Practical Tinker Board: Getting Started with the ASUS TInker Board gives  talk on how to use this versatile Tinker Board. I'm a huge fan of the Tinker Board, having used it for RetroPie, an Android TV box with Slash TV, and a number of other projects. I'm really keen to see Clark's panel this weekend.

Maker Faire 2019 San Mateo Best Picks: Top Panels, Workshops, and More at Bay Area Maker Faire 2019

No matter what you choose to do, there's tons of entertainment and learning to be had at Bay Area Maker Faire 2019. If you'd like to chat, hit us up via social media and we'd be delighted to talk! 

What are you most excited for at Maker Faire Bay Area 2019?