President Barack Obama is shown a a cargo bike with a mobile solar charging station by Makeda Stephenson, from the Center for Bits and Atoms, in Boston. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Obama hosted the first ever White House Maker Faire June 18.
Obama toured the exhibits on the White House lawn, meeting students, entrepreneurs, engineers and researchers, who are using new tools and techniques to launch businesses, develop advances in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), and be in the vanguard of a grassroots renaissance in American manufacturing.
It featured more than 100 Makers—the White House term for people who “love to ‘Make’ stuff–from more than 25 states and included more than 30 exhibits. The president toured a sampling of the exhibits that White House officials said represent a broad range of creativity and ingenuity unlocked by the Maker movement.
Following his tour of the White House Maker Faire, Obama, in remarks to the audience of entrepreneurs, students, business leaders, mayors, and heads of non-profit organizations, said the surge in “making stuff” echoes the nation tradition of tinkering and inventing.
17 year old Darius McCoy, tunes up his hand-built 3D printer.
“Our parents and our grandparents created the world’s largest economy and strongest middle class not by buying stuff, but by building stuff , by making stuff, by tinkering and inventing and building, by making and selling things first in a growing national market and then in an international market stuff “Made in America,” Obama said during his remarks to the crowd.
Obama also announced new steps by the administration to increase the ability of more Americans, young and old, to have access to these tools and techniques and to bring their ideas to life.
President Barack Obama shakes hands with Simon Hauger, right, Principle at Workshop school in Philadelphia, as he is shown a Biodiesel car students built.
Among the efforts being launched included helping Makers launch new businesses and create jobs, with more than 13 federal agencies and companies including Etsy, Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and Local Motors offering Makers a suite of support services. The initiative includes expanded access to start-up grants, strong relationships with American manufacturers and major retailers, and business mentoring and training.
He also challenged Makers to tackle their most pressing problems, from new tools that will aid in patient care, to hardware that will help probe the frontiers of outer space, to the development of low-cost technologies that can improve the livelihoods of the world’s most vulnerable people.