Chabot Space and Science Center's 5th Annual Tinkerfest
Saturday, May 20
10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
All ages, family friendly. Adults $20, Kids $15, Seniors $10 and Members free
Tinkerfest is a one-day event that celebrates the creative, curious, and inventive spirit in all of us. Tinkerfest will bring together makers, artists, and tinkerers to showcase their work and invite attendees of all ages to join in on the DIY fun. Activities are geared towards a family audience, but we welcome all visitors to experiment and learn with guest speakers, demonstrations, and fun hands-on activities!
Tinkerfest Partners
Allebell Industries – Allebell Industries is a creative development and design team focusing on hands-on interactives. Join them for one of Tinkerfest’s most popular activities, Cardboardia! Using just tape and cardboard, add a structure to this corrugated city in the Courtyard.
Art In Action – Art in Action is a nonprofit organization that provides K-8 visual arts education to schools, after school programs, and homeschools. Our easy-to-use, high-quality online curriculum serves over 76,000 students in 30 different states and is flexible to meet their learning needs. We also offer prepared supplies & materials along with year-round teacher/volunteer support! Head to their booth to discover the Symmetry of Flowers.
Aviation Institute of Maintenance – Learn how to work on aircraft of all types and fix Jets. Airplane engine take apart and rebuild (guided). Airplane engines take apart and rebuild.
Cotton Candy – Head to the Mezzanine to purchase a sweet treat. Watch Alan Roache hand-spin cotton candy right in front of your eyes!
Cypress Auto – Working with experienced mechanics, kids will get a chance to use real tools to take a car- apart!
Curiosity Junior (CJ) the Rover – Curiosity Junior (CJ) is a quarter-scale model of the Curiosity rover, built by robotics enthusiast Laura McKeegan. Designed to inspire hands-on exploration of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) for children and adults alike, CJ has quickly become a favorite attraction at science fairs, libraries, and educational institutions. CJ is equipped with a total of 15 servo motors that allow it to move, turn, and interact with its surroundings. The robot’s numerous sensors and cameras can be controlled remotely by participants using a WiFi-enabled tablet. This allows attendees to experience the thrill of driving a rover, just like the NASA scientists who control the real Curiosity rover on Mars. Curiosity Junior (CJ) is an example of how technology can be used to inspire and educate people of all ages about science and engineering.
DJ Brad – Bringing joy through music. DJ – Music. DJ B1
The MADE – (The Museum of Art and Digital Entertainment) – The MADE is a community-focused playable archive of video games working hard to keep Digital Artwork accessible and playable for everyone. We aim to inspire the next generation of digital artists and developers through community education and idea sharing. The MADE will bring a selection of retro video games for all to play. They show how games have grown over the years and inspire ideas of what digital art can become in the future.
Museum of Craft and Design – The Museum of Craft and Design is the only museum in San Francisco devoted to craft and design. Mobile MakeArt brings our changing exhibitions to life through in-person art-making, connecting community and bringing creativity to everyone. Head to the Mobil MakeArt van to create your own part of the Collective Constellations. Collective Constellations is inspired by the creative practice of Ala Ebtekar. Ebtekar’s “Luminous Ground”, featured in our current exhibition, is an extensive array of twilight-colored tiles evocative of starry skies. Tinkerfest participants will use a cyanotype-like process to create their own piece of starry sky, adding their tile to the collective constellation and picking it up on their way home.
Oakland Tool Lending Library – Through free DIY workshops and community programs — like Tinkerfest — FOTLL helps children and adults learn how to use tools safely. Our twice-a-month sales of donated tools helps underwrite those programs and funds many of the repairs necessary to keep the Oakland Tool Lending Library’s collection of over 5,000 tools available to be borrowed for free, just like library books. FOTLL is also working with the Oakland Public Library on the first major expansion of the Tool Library’s space in over 20 years. Take a Tool Quiz at the Tool Petting Zoo by matching a tool on display with its proper use and use basic hand tools to make simple figures out of corks and wire. Then take a souvenir photo with your Tool Troll creation!
Rock the Bike – An interactive challenge that harkens back to the classic carnival Sledgehammer game. Using your pedaling to power a graduated light display with a “gong” at the top. The sLEDgehammer is visible, motivating and engaging for guests of all ages.
Rogue Making with Tenaya Conklin – Rogue Making is thrilled to be a part of Tinkerfest at Chabot! Tenaya Conklin created Rogue Making to teach workshops all over California and the U.S. in programming, soldering, motor projects, paper engineering, and sewing with electronics. Discover cool circuits and how we can add them to our clothes and accessories. Go rogue and prototype wearable technology with a great activity for makers of all ages. The future is here, what will you make? Check out Tenaya’s music videos on Youtube for inspiration! “I’m so Maker,” “Happy Making,” and “This is How We Make.”
SF-HAB (Hight Altitude Balloons) – Join the SF-HAB and learn about amateur radio high altitude balloons in the San Francisco Bay Area. Pico Balloon Telemetry.
Society of American Military Engineers – The Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) builds leaders and leads collaboration among government and industry to develop multidisciplined solutions to national security infrastructure challenges. Founded in 1920, the Society unites public and private sector individuals and organizations from across the architecture, engineering, construction, environmental and facility management, cyber security, project planning, contracting and acquisition, and related disciplines in support of national security. Join the Society of American Military Engineers for a Water Filtration Challenge – Environmental Engineering and Water Quality.
Tim Taylor – Join local tinkerer, Tim Taylor, as he unveils his newest interactive kinetic sculpture project for Chabot guests.