MAKER’S CALENDAR Compiled by William Gurstelle

Our favorite events from around the world March • April • May

MARCH

>>University of Illinois

Engineering Open

House March 9-10,

Champaign, Ill.

The University of Illinois

Engineering Open House is one of the best showcases of engineering creativity in the country. >> The Texas Mile

This year’s theme is March 24-25, Goliad, Texas >>Rube Goldberg “Inspiring Innovation.” Land speed racers from Contest Finals

From crushing cars around the country March 31, with huge anvils to meet on the long, long, West Lafayette, Ind. crunching numbers with runway of the Goliad A Rube Goldberg device tiny microprocessors, Industrial Air Park is any exceedingly EOH is where you can to test their fastest complex apparatus see what the future machines (motorcycles that performs a very engineers of the world and automobiles). simple task in a very have in mind. Some attain speeds of indirect and convo-eoh.ec.uiuc.edu more than 250 mph. luted way. Inspired by texasmile.com machines drawn by the

to some of the most technologists, hackers, devious minds, code, researchers, think-and gadgets focused ers, strategists, and on breaking and remak- entrepreneurs meet in ing the technology the San Diego to learn how rest of the world simply to make technological buys and uses. magic. shmoocon.org conferences.oreillynet.

com/etech

championship held at Purdue University. purdue.edu/UNS/rube/ rube.index.html

APRIL >>Edinburgh Scotland Science Festival

April 6-15,

Edinburgh, Scotland

This festival features hundreds of talks, tours, and exhibitions for children, families, and adults in locations around the city. This is one of the world’s largest public celebrations of science and technology. sciencefestival.co.uk

>>Nevada Test Site
Public Access Day
March 20, April 24, May 30,
65 miles NE of Las Vegas
A few times a year,
the usually off-limits
Nevada Test Site allows
a busload of visitors to
look around. A 250-
mile bus tour begins
in Las Vegas and takes
visitors to the various
nuke-created craters,
the town of Mercury,
and more. www.nv.doe.
gov/nts/ tours.htm

>> NOTACON April 27-29, Cleveland, Ohio A favorite of Midwestern hackers, this annual computer enthusiast conference held in Cleveland explores and showcases the technologies, philosophy, and creativity associated with hacker life. notacon.org

Have a blast at the Nevada Test Site Public Access Day.

>> ShmooCon March 23-25, Washington, D.C. ShmooCon is a popular East Coast hacker convention. Those attending bear witness

>> O’Reilly Emerging eponymous cartoonist, Technology Confer- the contest inspires ence March 26-29, college students San Diego, Calif. nationwide to design ETech frames the ideas, whimsical machines projects, and tech- that require skill and nologies lurking just imagination. A series below the mainstream of regional events cul-radar. Every year, 1,200 minates at the national

>> Toledo R/C Model
Show April 13-15,
Toledo, Ohio
This is one of the
nation’s premiere
events for radio-
controlled vehicle
enthusiasts. Modelers
and suppliers from
across the nation come

190 Make: Volume 09