A Nation of Makers
Welcome to the Week of Making
The White House celebrated National Week of Making, June 12 -18. Hundreds of events and partnerships were unveiled around the country in libraries, museums, schools, universities and community spaces to enable our citizen-makers. To kick off the Week, the White House hosted an event which included announcements and progress updates on the President’s call to action to create a “Nation of Makers.” We heard from Makers from across the country, organizations helping to support them, as well as senior Obama Administration officials.
Week of Making Intro Text
The week coincided with the National Maker Faire here in D.C. at the University of D.C. campus, which featured makers from 40 different states, from Alaska and Texas to Nebraska and Hawaii. In addition, 18 federal agencies or departments exhibited or presented at the Faire including: the National Science Foundation, U.S. Agency for International Development, Institute for Museum and Library Services, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Army, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Department of Homeland Security, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Veterans Affairs, U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institutes of Health, the Federal Laboratory Consortium, National Endowment for the Arts, General Services Administration and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Last year, on June 18, President Obama hosted the first-ever White House Maker Faire and issued a call to action that “every company, every college, every community, every citizen joins us as we lift up makers and builders and doers across the country.” At last year’s Faire, President Obama welcomed people of all ages who are funneling their ingenuity into amazing projects, developing creative solutions to important problems and bringing their innovations to market.
Stories Behind Making
The White House Hosts Its First-Ever Maker Faire
June 18, 2014
President Obama proclaimed June 18, 2014 a National Day of Making, calling upon all Americans "to observe this day with programs, ceremonies, and activities that encourage a new generation of makers and manufacturers to share their talents and hone their skills."
The President, in 3D
December 2, 2014
Recently, the Smithsonian stopped by the White House to take a 3D portrait of President Obama, in what will be be the highest resolution digital model of a head of state. Take a look at the process, and the 3D rendering created from this technology.
Hour of Code
December 10, 2014
The President and the Vice President joined in on the "Hour of Code," learning to code alongside a group of students from South Seventeenth Street School in Newark, New Jersey.
The Maker Movement
America has always been a nation of tinkerers, inventors, and entrepreneurs. In recent years, a growing number of Americans have gained access to technologies such as 3D printers, laser cutters, easy-to-use design software, and desktop machine tools. This, in combination with freely available information about how to use, modify, and build upon these technologies and the availability of crowd funding platforms, is enabling more Americans to design and build almost anything.
Empowering students and adults to create, innovate, tinker, and make their ideas and solutions into reality is at the heart of the Maker Movement. Since the first-ever White House Maker Faire, the White House has continued to support opportunities for students to learn about STEM through making, expand the resources available for maker entrepreneurs, and foster the development of advanced manufacturing in the U.S.
More on the Making
More about how the White House, federal agencies, communities, educational institutions, companies, libraries and museums are coming together to expand opportunities for making:
Making At the White House
President Obama hosted the first-ever Maker Faire on June 18, 2014.
For the holidays this year, the White House featured Bo and Sunny in the holiday decorations as life-size, animated “dog-bots."
The White House announces the winners of it's first-ever 3D-printed ornament challenge.
More Maker Opportunities
The First Lady held a fashion workshop highlighting the growing role of makers and new technologies in the creative economy.
Higher education institutions respond to the President’s call to support making on college campuses.
Case Western is providing a makerspace and innovation center to give students, staff, faculty and members of the public the tools they need to create, build and invent.
Young African Leaders joined the US Global Development Lab and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy at Fab Lab DC to discuss the role of making in Africa’s economic and community development.
Related Issues & Initiatives
Maker Cities
On the day of the first-ever White House Maker Faire, cities around the country signed on to the Mayors Maker Challenge. These cities committed to taking steps to broaden opportunities for making in their communities. Since then, more than 100 cities have been taking action by doing things such as hosting mayor maker roundtables and town halls, supporting the creation of makers spaces and appointing a liaison or task force to establish collaborations that support local Makers. Using the map below, check out what cities have been doing and send an email to maker@ostp.gov if you have an update on what your city has been doing!
Or view the map fullscreen here.
Stay Engaged
Want to join in the fun? Here are a few ideas to get you thinking:
- Post photos of a current Maker project you are working on or choose a new project to work on and ask a couple of friends or family members to build it with you. You can find fun and creative projects ideas from a variety of websites for Makers such as MAKE.
- Host an open house at your local makerspace or set up a hangout online to connect and share your inventions with Makers across the country.
- Volunteer to be a mentor for someone who is interested in learning a new skill or find a mentor who would be interested in teaching a new skill you’ve been wanting to learn for a while.
- Create a project of your own and then share the plans for your project online through Maker platforms so others can also make, modify, or remix your project.
- Organize a maker roundtable to identify and convene maker thought leaders in your community on expanding Making initiatives, programs, and activities in your neighborhood.
- If you’re an organization or company, encourage your employees to volunteer as an educator and/or mentor to host maker-oriented workshops or classes in your community.
- Follow the action online at www.whitehouse.gov/makerfaire
- Your idea here!
Stay updated here, and follow along at #NationOfMakers.
See How Others Are Staying Engaged
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