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Above: Children partake in the Makers exibit at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh.

With child inventors, robotic animals, the loudest moving instrument, local artists and crafters, this year’s Pittsburgh Mini Maker Faire  at the Children’s Museum promises a unique experience for visitors of all ages. 

The Pittsburgh Mini Maker Faire brings makers in science, art, music, engineering and craft together to encourage making from all ages. The event is organized by the staff of MAKE magazine and is co-presented by the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and HackPittsburgh. 

Located on Fifth Avenue in the Crawford-Roberts neighborhood, HackPittsburgh is a nonprofit, community-based workshop that focuses on sharing skills and tools between its members to pursue creative projects. 

“Pittsburgh Mini Maker Faire is one of the destination events that draw people from all over the region to our neighborhood,” says Angela Seals, the Program Manager at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and the Lead Coordinator of the Pittsburgh Mini Maker Faire. 

Visitors from all over Allegheny County will come to the Northside for the fair to watch and work with regional and local inventors, engineers, artists, crafters and musicians.

“It pulls them beyond the overpasses from the North Shore into the community to see the gorgeous new Buhl Community Park, the architecture and cultural assets nearby, the quality restaurants and all the great things here that Northsiders know so well,” said Seals.

“Inviting families to visit the Northside to explore ‘making’ brings people here that might not otherwise make that trip and sends them back to their community with a positive, refreshed perspective on the entire Northside,” says Sue Kerr, founder of the Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project, an organization that will be participating in this year’s fair. 

Located in the Northside, the Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project collects new and gently used tote bags and distributes them to the region’s food pantries. In this year’s Mini Maker Faire, Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project will be giving out tote bags to visitors and donating new tote bags to their project. They will also be handing out information on how to “reuse” gently worn tote bags. 

Kerr thinks the Maker Faire is a great way to “showcase the wonderful merger of reuse and revitalization of [the Northside’s] neighborhoods.”

HackPittsburgh’s shop councilmember Doug Philips points out that the fair not only shows off makers in the tri-state area, but also works as an outreach, collecting people from other communities and bringing them together. 

“The main purpose is to build the community,” Philips said. “Everyone should feel empowered to make their own stuff, even if it’s not useful. It’s a creative process.” 

This year’s Pittsburgh Mini Maker Faire will take place from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at Buhl Community Park and the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh this Saturday.