Maker culture is based on the idea that people can build interesting things with their own hands: high-tech things like robots, or simple household crafts. Some makers got together recently at Tunxis Community College in Farmington, Connecticut.
At one booth, kids built towers out of Legos. At another, Hartford High School teacher Dave Mangus showed people how to build a simple household organizer. He helped six-year-old Marianna Cruz-Rodriguez learn how to use a drill.
“I see people making guitars over there, people make robots here,” said Travis Wong, a senior at Farmington High School, who was there with three friends.
"We build robots,” he said.
They showed off their latest robot, a remote-controlled, motorized machine that looks like a five-foot-tall forklift. It’s supposed to pick up crates and move them around.
Wong says you don’t have to be able to build or fix robots to call yourself a maker.
“What maker means to me is like, do it yourself, that kind of stuff," he said. "Even if it’s not technology-based, you can still do what you want and make what you want.”
Wong said he wants to be a computer engineer someday. He has short-term goals, too.
“I’m trying to connect my Wii Guitar Hero controller to drive the robot," he said. "I think that would be really cool. I’m getting close to it. Hopefully that will work out fine.”
