What's in the Air at Maker Faire?
What does the sizzle of a corn dog and the combustion of a giant flame car have in common? Well, they both give off a lot of particulate matter for starters. How do we know? Because we went to Maker Faire and we brought our PocketLab Air…and we bought some corn dogs….and they were delicious.
For five years we’ve been meeting makers and finding inspiration at the Bay Area Maker Faire and this year was extra special because we got the chance to explore a whole new side of the show with PocketLab Air. Our team walked around with a PocketLab Air strapped to a backpack, just to see what invisible changes we might detect during our tour.
Here's what we found:
We met a lot of interesting makers this year, including some who were also focusing on air quality. Here are some of our favorites:
African Clean Energy
African Clean Energy is an awesome company that offers a unique and effective solution for smoke pollution. They designed a high-tech, low-cost cook stove that reduces soot emissions when cooking with an open flame. How cool is that? But that's not all. It also eliminates the need for propane dependency, so it practically pays for itself. During our visit, they had their ACE-1 actively burning inside. We got to see their ACE-1 stove in action, cooking food indoors while eliminating the smoke. We were awestruck. Click here to learn more about African Clean Energy
PM 2.5
This will make you feel good about the future: A group of high schoolers in Korea crowdfunded a Build-it-Yourself air purifier kit called PM 2.5. They specially designed the kit to be both affordable and effective, with a goal to make clean air affordable and accessible for everyone. Check it out below. Click here to learn more about PM 2.5
Paper Airplane Guy
If you’re looking to build the ultimate paper airplane, look no further than the famous Paper Airplane Guy. He’s engineered the most effective ways to fold paper into soaring airships. If you’re looking for a fun STEM activity, check out the link and start building your paper fleet. While at his booth, we used his design to make a plane of our own, which flew surprisingly far... but not far enough to nab the record. Your title's safe Paper Airplane Guy... at least for now. Click here to learn more about The Paper Airplane Guy
Strawbees
Last but not least, we had to check out the Strawbees booth. They make awesome kits that get kids excited about structural design and engineering. They had a couple of them set up in their booth that were too fun to resist. Click here to learn more about Strawbees
