Media Credit: Caleb Miller

Media Credit: Ranjana Thomas

Part science fair and part carnival, there was something for everyone at Maker Faire, from learning lessons on how to carve a pumpkin to installing speakers into balloons.

Maker Faire is sponsored by MAKE magazine, a project-based publication focused on do-it-yourself and how-to projects. Inventors and enthusiasts from all over the country and people interested in learning a craft traveled to the Travis County Expo Center Saturday and Sunday. In its third year running, this year was the first time the fair left its usual San Mateo, Calif. location.

"We wanted to see what happens when you open the doors of Austin and bring people in to show what they have," said Dale Dougherty, editor and publisher of MAKE magazine.

Open to anyone who wanted to show their skills or inventions, the fair included workshops on how to make beer and lectures from well-known inventors on showcasing and selling products.

"The whole idea of this fair is to bring people together and have them connect their ideas," said Mark Ballard, MAKE magazine representative. "It is less about making money and more about making things and turning people on to being creative."

With a giant robot throwing ping-pong balls across a room and a life-sized "Mouse Trap" interactive board game, creativity was not lacking.

"Some of the inventions are all about self-expression and art and others are just practical, but the bottom line is they are all about being makers," Ballard said.

The next fair will return to the original location in San Mateo.

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