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(Troy Dreier for the Jersey Journal)

This past weekend saw the Maker Faire return to New York City. If you missed it, make sure it’s on your calendar for next year.

Maker Faires, created by Make magazine, occur all around the world, and the NYC event is one of the biggest. It’s a giant celebration of do-it-yourself technology and crafts, and it truly offers something for everyone.

This year’s event, again held at the New York Hall of Science in Queens, included plenty of old favorites, such as the Power Racing Series. Here, people raced modified kid’s electric cars to see which could drive fastest through a winding course.

3D printing is always popular at the Faire. If you’ve never seen a 3D printer before, it’s a great chance to discover the fun and useful things you can make with one, and even buy a 3D printer for yourself. Attendees got to see the world’s first 3D printed car, created in only 44 hours.

I noticed more major sponsor participation this year, a sign of how popular the event is becoming (85,000 people visited, and there were over 900 exhibitors). Maker wisely has major companies lead hands-on demonstration areas: Pepsi let people mix up a beverage with liquid nitrogen to create a futuristic drink, while Disney and Intel also let people create things they could keep.

Radio Shack, a longtime sponsor, was back with a tent were people could learn to solder, creating a blinking rocket-shaped badge. It’s one of my favorite areas at the Faire.

While there’s plenty for adults, the Maker Faire is all about getting kids interested in science. It offers many touchable exhibits where kids can learn about robotics and electronics. For anyone with children, it’s a fantastic day. In one area, helicopter drones battled in air, in a contest called Game of Drones. Who wouldn’t love that?

The Maker Faire will return to the area in late September of next year.

Follow TROY DREIER at http://twitter.com/TDreier or e-mail him at loggedon@mac.com.