Building on President Obama’s Nation of Makers initiative, the 2016 National Week of Making will be June 17-23 and the National Maker Faire will be June 18-19.
In June 2014, President Obama hosted the first-ever Maker Faire and launched the Nation of Makers initiative, an all-hands-on-deck call to make sure more students, entrepreneurs, and Americans of all backgrounds have access to a new class of technologies—such as 3D printers, laser cutters, and desktop machine tools—that are enabling more Americans to design, build, and manufacture just about anything. These new tools are helping reimagine “shop class” for the 21st century and giving students the types of hands-on STEM learning experiences that spark interest in science and technology careers. They are also fostering a “maker mindset”—dispositions and skills such as curiosity, collaborative problem-solving, and creative confidence that are vital to the modern innovation economy.
