O'Reilly
May 5, 2009

ReMaking America: Building a Sustainable Future--Nation's Leading Innovators Gather at Maker Faire 2009

May 5, 2009; San Mateo, CAMaker Faire, the world's largest do-it-yourself (DIY) festival is taking place on May 30th & 31st at the San Mateo County Expo Center. This annual gathering of Makers will showcase the countries best innovations in arts, crafts, engineering, food, music, science and technology.

This year's theme, "ReMake America: Building a Sustainable Future", is based on President Obama's call to action to participate in a new era of DIY. During his inaugural address, the President spoke about the bedrock of America, citing that it has been "the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things" that has led to our prosperities and freedoms. With that lesson in mind, he is calling on everyone to resume the work that will remake America once again.

In an effort to encourage people to participate, here are ten ideas from Maker Faire--along with ingenious examples from 10 Makers--to show Americans how they too can join the Maker movement by creating their own DIY projects.

Top 10 Ideas for ReMaking America

Be Resourceful: Necessity is the mother of all invention and now, more than ever, is the time to make or fix things instead of buying them:

Conserve Energy: Action starts at home by unplugging idle electronics, replacing products with energy efficient ones and subsidizing with natural resources: Alternative Transportation: From electric vehicles to innovative bicycles, there are many methods that don't involve gas-powered vehicles: Revive Our Agricultural Roots: From urban farming to bee keeping, find more ways to live sustainably through agriculture: Participate in Community: Cultivate trades and crafts by engaging with others and sharing knowledge: Encourage Learning: Passing knowledge to future generations ensures that innovation will thrive ? engage students by providing hands-on learning experiences: Monitor Usage: Be aware of how much energy and natural resources you use on a daily basis to help promote conservation efforts: Lend a Hand: Volunteer your time to promote DIY projects in schools and after-school programs: Take Risks: The entrepreneurial spirit of America is based on the premise of nothing ventured, nothing lost: Celebrate Failures: Failure is an essential key to learning, by sharing mistakes you can help prevent others from making their own ? thus promoting efficient production:

For more ideas and additional insight into these DIY principals, please visit the Featured Maker page at http://makerfaire.com/bayarea/2009/makers.

About Maker Faire
Maker Faire is being held on May 30 & 31, 2009 at the San Mateo County Expo Center. Started in San Mateo, California in 2006, it has since expanded to Austin and is the premier event for grassroots American innovation. Held annually in each of these locations, the event may expand elsewhere in the future. Maker Faire is supported by Make Magazine, craftzine.com and O'Reilly Media, the premier information source for leading-edge computer technologies. The company's books, conferences, and web sites bring to light the knowledge of technology innovators.

About O'Reilly

O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying "faint signals" from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.

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