The annual Maker Faire took place this year from October 13 to October 15, and October 20 to October 22 in Vallejo. The event was an extraordinary opportunity for Irvington’s very own Berbawy Makers to showcase their innovative talents and participate in an engineering enthusiast community. With a long-standing relationship and good reputation among the Maker Faire coordinators and participants, the Berbawy Makers were given the opportunity to run an interactive booth consisting of vinyl cutting, 3D printing, Nerdy Derby, robot racing, and the showcasing of earrings, puzzle tubes, robots, and several other student and alumni projects.

In the layout of numerous unique activities, Nerdy Derby was received most popularly, especially amongst students. 

Mrs. Berbawy, the engineering teacher at Irvington and founder of the Berbawy Maker non-profit, shared “Nerdy Derby, where the kids make cars and slide them down this little track, was super fun and simple. We ended up going through ¾ of the supplies that were supposed to be for the whole weekend on the first day because kids loved it so much.” 

Students also gained inspiration and valuable knowledge by exploring the numerous tech innovative attractions with hands-on learning experiences. 

Shreya Kolla (12) explains “The Stanford space initiative came in and demonstrated their CubeSats (miniaturized satellites). It was really inspiring because I want to work with their team and emulate their team’s values and mission at Irvington High School by starting my own initiative. It’s nice to see people at the Maker Faire interested in the same fields as me.” 

While the Maker Faire proved to be incredibly educational, it also exposed younger generations to the joys of engineering. 

Sara Jain (11) shared, “I could see how passionate people were about their projects. People would create random stuff like R2D2, lightsabers, and large mechanical giraffes that can move around, which made me think that I could go into this field having fun with what I create while learning so much.”

With the CEO of Raspberry Pi and colleges like Berkeley and Stanford participating, the inspirational Maker Faire can be one of the most opportunistic events for students with a passion for invention and innovation to make connections. Participants, including alumni, can gain access to opportunities like internships, scholarships, job offers, and priority enrollment in colleges/universities. 

Mrs. Berbawy explains, “Just this last week one of my former students who helped out at the Maker Faire was offered a job at a company. Then somebody else came by wanting to talk to me about potential opportunities for summer and school internships for students.”

Despite expensive transportation costs and limits on the amount of students able to come, the Maker’s Faire weekend for Irvington was a massive interactive and informational success. Students can look forward to next year’s Maker Faire where hopefully even more people will be able to showcase their projects and take advantage of numerous opportunities and experiences. 

Mrs. Berbawy shares, “Events like Maker Faire are so important for the world, especially for kids. I love all the parts of it and I will never miss an opportunity to attend.”