Authored By Staff Report

The fourth annual Chattanooga Mini Maker Faire is this fall at the downtown Chattanooga Public Library and organizers want you to participate

Part science fair, part county fair and part something entirely new, Maker Faire is an all-ages gathering of tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists, students and commercial exhibitors.

This year's event will be Oct. 20. All of the “makers” come together to show what they have made and to share what they have learned. Interactive exhibits at the Chattanooga Mini Maker Faire have, in recent years, included pottery making, robot battles, screen printing stations and more.

Commercial exhibitors have included artists and artisans selling jewelry, specially-bound books and other products.

Applications are now open for makers and members of the public to submit their exhibit ideas through Sept. 20.

Click here to apply as an exhibitor.

This year will mark the fourth Chattanooga Mini Maker Faire event, with more than 2,000 attendees in 2017 and over 80 makers represented. The Company Lab and the Chattanooga Public Library are partnering to serve as the lead organizers for this year’s event.

“We are incredibly excited to help bring the Chattanooga Mini Maker Faire to our region, as we hold the maker mentality as part of our core values at CO.LAB,” The Company Lab's CEO Marcus Shaw said. “The creative spirit of the maker is foundational to entrepreneurship.”

The decision to relocate the Chattanooga Mini Maker Faire to the library places the event at the heart of maker resources in the region, explained Shaw.

“The library is beyond thrilled to be co-hosting this year's Maker Faire at the downtown location,” said Meredith Levine, head of youth services at Chattanooga’s downtown public library. “Maker Faire will take over our entire building and outdoor lawn, remaining abuzz with activity all day and bringing more people to Maker Faire than ever before. Showing off your work or your organization's work at Maker Faire is an extraordinary opportunity to engage with the community, and what better place to engage than the library?”

The Chattanooga Mini Maker Faire originally launched in October 2014, closing out the first Startup Week Chattanooga. Chattanooga’s maker community has grown significantly just as the entrepreneurial community has grown over the past decade.