The maker culture is a contemporary culture or subculture representing a technology-based
extension of DIY culture.
Typical interests enjoyed by the maker culture include engineering-oriented pursuits such
as electronics, robotics, 3-D printing, and the use of CNC tools, as well as more traditional
activities such as metalworking, woodworking, and traditional arts and crafts.
The subculture stresses new and unique applications of technologies, and encourages invention
and prototyping.
There is a strong focus on using and learning practical skills and applying them creatively.
Philosophical emphasis 'Maker culture' emphasizes learning-through-doing
in a social environment.
Maker culture emphasizes informal, networked, peer-led, and shared learning motivated by
fun and self-fulfillment.
Maker culture encourages novel applications of technologies, and the exploration of intersections
between traditionally separate domains and ways of working including metal-working, calligraphy,
film making, and computer programming.
Community interaction and knowledge sharing are often mediated through networked technologies,
with websites and social media tools forming the basis of knowledge repositories and a
central channel for information sharing and exchange of ideas, and focused through social
meetings in shared spaces such as hackspaces.
Maker culture has attracted the interest of educators concerned about students’ disengagement
from STEM subjects in formal educational settings.
Maker culture is seen as having the potential to contribute to a more participatory approach
and create new pathways into topics that will make them more alive and relevant to learners.
Some say that the maker movement is a reaction to the de-valuing of physical exploration
and the growing sense of disconnection with the physical world in modern cities.
Other scholars including Raymond Malewitz and Charles Jencks have examined the Utopian
vision of Maker culture, which they link to myths of rugged individualism, the possibility
of a counterculture and libertarianism In reaction to the rise of maker culture,
Barack Obama pledged to open several national research and development facilities to the
public.
Hackerspaces and Fab Labs
The rise of the maker culture is closely associated with the rise of hackerspaces, Fab Labs and
other "maker spaces", of which there are now many around the world, including over 100
each in Germany and the United States.
Hackerspaces allow like-minded individuals to share ideas, tools, and skillsets.
Some notable hackerspaces which have been linked with the maker culture include Noisebridge,
NYC Resistor, A2 Mech Shop, Pumping Station: One, Artisan's Asylum, and TechShop.
In addition, those who identify with the subculture can be found at more traditional universities
with a technical orientation, such as MIT and Carnegie Mellon.
As maker culture becomes more popular, hackerspaces and Fab Labs are becoming more common in universities.
Media Some media outlets associated with the subculture
include MAKE and the popular weblog Boing Boing.
Boing Boing editor Cory Doctorow has written a novel, Makers, which he describes as being
"a book about people who hack hardware, business-models, and living arrangements to discover ways of
staying alive and happy even when the economy is falling down the toilet".
Maker Faire Since 2006 the subculture has held regular
events around the world, Maker Faire, which in 2012 drew a crowd of 120,000 attendees.
Smaller, community driven Maker Faires referred to as Mini Maker Fairs are also held in various
places where an O'Reilly-organised Maker Faire has not yet been held.
Maker Faire provides a Mini Maker Faire starter kit to encourage the spread of local Maker
Faire events.
Maker Film Fest The annual Maker Film Fest, taking place at
the Powerhouse Science Center in Durango, Colorado, features "Films About Makers, and
Makers Making Movies."
Those who have a maker film they'd like to have shown are encouraged to contact the Durango
Maker Club.
See also
References