Invention and innovation at the 4th Annual Maker Faire

Creativity will take center stage during this gathering of engineers, artists, scientists, crafters, and more.

In a large hall with booths, a young boy and a man stand in front of a the Foothills Community Workshop booth, looking at an invention.

Groups like Foothills Community Workshop, a makerspace in Hickory, share their projects with the curious.

Photo via Maker Faire

They call it “the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth” — a gathering of the curious and creative, inventive and imaginative. This Saturday, April 13 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the annual Maker Faire will bring together everyone from scientists to engineers to artists for a chance to showcase experiments and projects. It’s a day to celebrate creativity as a tool for making the world a better place.

Maker Faire was launched in the San Francisco Bay area in 2006 by the editors of Make: magazine. Nowadays, these events happen all over the world — but it seems uniquely suited to a place like Asheville. With our area’s marriage of manufacturing and art, there’s no shortage of local makers to fill the booths.

Inside this year’s event, you’ll find robotics, sonic interactive experiences, paper roller coasters, woodworking, and puppet creatures, among a host of other maker exhibits.

Register for the free event at the Mission Health/A-B Tech Conference Center.