Makevention is a celebration of the do-it-yourself spirit with loads of local and regional makers sharing their love for making. Makevention 2013 was held August 24, 2013, at the Convention Center in Bloomington, Indiana where we upcycled t-shirts with Discardia and the IU Creativity Lab, made vacuum formed molds and shot twinkies with Bloominglabs, watched frisbee throwing FIRST robots and bowling FIRST LEGO League robots, battled with the Bloomington Battle Games, knitted and crocheted with the Bloomington B’s and Blue Door Red Gate, raced pinewood derby cars with the Boys Scouts of America, talked HAM radios with Bloomington’s Amateur Radio clubs, and much much more.

Also, we had a event-wide puzzle called “Find the Hackerspaces.” We encoded the names of 28 hackerspaces from around the world including their cities and states or countries where they are located. People use paper and wooden badges to decode the messages, and we gave prizes to the people with the most correct answers. Congratulations to Andrew H., Mara F., Jennifer B., and Shannon G. our puzzle winners! All four of these contestants filled in *every* answer to the puzzle. We at Makevention are impressed.

And thanks to everyone who made Makevention possible. Thanks to our sponsors without whom we would not have been able to put on this event. Thanks to the committee members and the small army of volunteers and Bloominglabs’ members who gave their energy and time to assuring Makevention was successful. Thanks to all the makers who came and shared their love of making with the Bloomington community. And thanks to all the attendees for making the event more successful than we imagined. Everyone involved, attendees and exhibitors alike, had a great time demonstrated by the huge smiles on everyone’s faces.

In case you missed Makevention and are unsure what we’re all about, makers include tech enthusiasts, artists, educators, crafters, hobbyists, and tinkerers all who have a love of making. Check out our video which gives you a taste of the making community in Bloomington.

We are already planning Makevention 2014, so keep you eyes on this space. See you next year!

Makevention 2013 was proudly sponsored by The Pervasive Technology Institute of Indiana University, the Pinnacle School, and the City of Bloomington