Twenty-seven Hours of Make-A-Thon Madness
North Bay iHub and SSU Converge to Catalyze Creativity and Innovation
On March 5-6, 2016, North Bay iHub and Sonoma State University will be hosting a 27-hour Make-A-Thon at Sonoma Mountain Village in Rohnert Park to inspire, kindle and celebrate innovation in the North Bay. “Makers” of all ages are welcome to participate and create a prototype of their ideas, with tools and mentoring provided.
The second day of the Make-A-Thon will include a Makers Expo with prototypes from the participants and other North Bay makers. With a growing number of Maker Certified Educators in the area, and dozens of schools from elementary up to college offering Making experiences in the classroom, we are hoping to see some great ideas come from teams of educators and from young innovators at the first ever marathon Make-a-Thon event. There is even a prize category specifically for educators.
Amee Sas, Executive Director of North Bay iHub, said, “We’re really excited about the Make-A-Thon. Who knows what exciting ideas will come to life? A team might want to make a highly-specialized drone; or a gamer might want to create a 3-D rendering of popular video game layouts to improve the gaming strategy, perhaps a student who is passionate about being a mobile deejay might want to build a beatbox system, or a chemist has an idea for a new process to make nano wires. The sky and beyond is the limit. Artists, makers, burners, welders, tradesmen, hackers, coders, dreamers, programmers, designers, tinkerers, students, professionals and humans are all welcome.”
Support Provided includes Industry Mentors, Tools
Saturday will begin with a few demos for available tools and some inspirational industry leader talks. Autodesk software and other tools will be provided. Although teams may bring materials and tools, the event producers will work with teams to provide specialized tools as well. Then teams will form and flesh out their concepts, after which the mentoring, building, and rapid prototyping commences. As the work progresses, there will be five “progress report points” for the teams to record their progress via social media.
Cash Prizes Awarded Sunday at the Makers Expo
On Sunday, the finalist maker teams will present their creations to a panel of judges, with a $2,500 prize going to the overall winner. Also on Sunday, there will be a Makers Expo for the public to view the “makes” by the participants and others in the North Bay.
Register to participate by February 12
Registration will begin on Jan. 4 and close on Feb. 12. The fee to register is $70, with a discounted fee of $30 for students. The fee includes drinks, snacks, dinner and live music. Makers under 18 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. A Sunday pass for the general public is $15 for adults and $5 for children. Major sponsors of the event include VIAVI, Codding, Autodesk, SOMO Village, Summit State Bank, Innovative Molding and Pisenti & Brinker and Beneficial State Bank. For more information go to: www.northbayihub.com.
Media Contact: Amee Sas
Cell: (707) 695-7000
Office: (707) 664-6201
Email: [email protected]
