I’ve now run my 3D printer at 4 different Maker Faires, and I have learned a lot about how to best engage and educate people about the hobby. If you’re interested in bringing your 3D printer to a Maker Faire or any other type of show and tell event, here are some tips on how to plan it.

Know your audience.

In my experience, there are three separate audiences you’ll be meeting, each with different questions and different methods of engagement.

Audience 1: Kids

Kids are the primary audience of Maker Faires. You’ll see everything from toddlers to middle school kids. High schoolers/teenagers are consistently, and conspicuously, absent.

a. Have things they can touch. They should be allowed to pick up and handle anything on your table. This means that you shouldn’t put anything out that you would cry if it gets broken. Obviously this excludes the printer; no one should be touching that. But all of the printed objects should be fair game.

So many 3D printers I have seen at Faires have a Planetary Gear , a Spiral Vase , and maybe a Make: Robot or two. Those are demo pieces, and they don’t help the kids understand what this thing is good for. Of course, you can tell them, “You can print anything!” But “anything” is a lot of things and it’s kind of an overwhelming concept. I focus on toys and games, because kids can connect with these and understand them. Suddenly the utility of a printer becomes evident. Whatever it is you do with your printer, bring examples of it. Try to have at least one decorative vase and one print with moving parts (The Space Wrench is a good choice), but beyond that… just bring lots of things.

This one . Not even kidding. It is the number one favorite model at my booth every time, and it gets even the most shy 5 year old to break out of their shell and engage with the exhibit. I have printed out a couple of other low poly pokemon and they’re all popular (Gengar is always sort of the odd one out), but if you will only have one, Pikachu is the way to go.

d. Have the printer running. Whether it’s a Pikachu or a Make: Robot or basically anything, have the printer running on site if at all possible. Octoprint is a great way of managing this without lugging around a computer. It’s hard for people to visualize how it works from a description alone, but if they can watch it go they get a better understanding. It helps to have a finished version on hand so they can compare the finished and in-progress models.

Audience 2: Parents

As soon as the kid is interested, Mom or Dad is interested. Some of them identify that they are inquiring on behalf of Santa. In April. My Santa does not plan nearly that far in advance.

a. Have info about your printer. They’ll want to know how much the printer costs. How much does filament cost? What’s the brand? Did you build it yourself? From parts, a kit? Was it hard? Be prepared to answer these, and be prepared to describe cheaper and more expensive options and what the differences are.

b. You don’t have to sell your printer. Unless you’re there as an employee of a printer manufacturer, you’re not required to sell the same printer you have. You can recommend your printer; if someone wants a larger print area, recommend a brand you trust that has a larger printer. I have and love my Printrbot and I recommend it as a starter machine; I still recommend Lulzbots for those looking for a beefier printer. Warn people away from bad printers or bad companies. But don’t feel obligated to go to bat for the one you have if you think there might now be better options.

c. Did you make all these models? Be clear about the 3D design part. If you downloaded from Thingiverse, designed yourself, or some mix, be straightforward about it. Tell people where your models can be found. Attribute appropriately for models you found online. Thingiverse will generate ThingTags for you, but I have ended up not using them. In keeping with points 1a and 1b above, there are many things on my table and they are constantly being picked up. When a kid picks up a Sherman Tank model and a Giant Space Monster and makes “Ka-BOOM! Smash!” noises, that’s great. This kid is interested and engaged. However, those models are not going to get put down where they started and you have to be at peace with that. I have ended up attributing verbally, telling people where each model can be found online.

d. Talk about modeling software. If you make your own models, be prepared to talk about what program you use to do it. If you use Blender or OpenSCAD, be prepared to suggest simpler options like 123D Design or TinkerCAD as starting points, because Blender can be intimidating.

Audience 3: Other people with 3D printers

One of the more interesting audiences is people who already have some knowledge about 3D printers. Some of them will know more than you, and you might learn something from a conversation with them. Others might be assembling their first RepRap and might learn something from you. Yet other exchanges might have both sides learning something new.

a. Try to have some interesting filaments on hand. Even the experienced 3D printers who designed and built their own RepRaps are excited to see my materials science display. I have Rooks and Calibration Cubes in a variety of exotic filaments that many people haven’t had a chance to play with, or maybe don’t know that exist. We’re limited to thermoplastics, but that’s actually a very wide range of materials. It gets a lot of interest, even from people who are completely new to 3D printing.

b. Be prepared to talk about your aftermarket modifications. It seems that very few printers make it to regular consumer use without being modified in some way. I’ve added a heated bed to mine, as well as some NinjaFlex guides. What have you added? What would you like to add?

c. Have contact info. While no one has ever followed up with me directly after a Maker Faire, there are a lot of people who will ask for your contact info. I give a link to this blog and my twitter handle. Maybe they just follow? In any case, enough people ask, so having some cards or a piece of paper with some links and a QR code is a good idea. I keep meaning to add QR codes to my sign but I never remember.

Technical Concerns

A couple of technical concerns to make sure your printer will work on site:

a. Ensure that you’ll have power. Faire organizers will often want to know how many amps you’ll need. Make sure to factor in whatever computer you bring to the amperage calculation, and if power supplies are limited, you can reduce your load by not using your heated bed.

b. Have demo models already sliced and loaded. Choose your demo models ahead of time, slice them, and load them onto the Raspberry Pi or the SD card before you leave home.

c. How are you going to connect to the printer on site? If you’ve got an SD card and an LCD screen, this is easy. Otherwise, you’re going to need to lug along a computer to drive the printer. Laptops work, but the easiest option is to bring an OctoPi. I also suggest bringing a small monitor, mouse, and keyboard just in case the OctoPi needs some on-site configuration, such as getting on the local wifi network or creating an ad hoc network of its own.

d. Cooling. A lot of Maker Faires are held during the summer, and many times they’re outside. It gets hot. This means you can often skip the heated bed with no ill effects, but it also means that your electronics – already prone to overheating – might get too toasty and give up. Have a strategy for active cooling. At my last Faire, I actually put the printer on top of a box so that the electronics were exposed (while printing!) and put my desk fan underneath to blow directly on the Printrboard.

e. Have a rain plan. Either secure indoor space, request a canopy from the faire organizers, or let them know in advance that you’ll bow out if the weather turns nasty.

Human Concerns

a. Sunscreen. Especially if you’re outside and you don’t have a canopy. Since you’ll be in one spot all day you’ll end up with an interesting one-sided sunburn if you don’t take precautions.

b. Stay Hydrated. I’ve started bringing a small cooler filled with drinks. You’ll be talking all day long, so it helps to have a large quantity of your non-alcoholic beverage of choice within reach.

c. Have a helper. It really helps to have another person there so that you can engage with more people, but also so that one of you can take a bathroom break or eat lunch without leaving booth unattended.

I hope this helps you put together your Maker Faire booth. Being at a Faire all day is exhausting but a very valuable experience and I enjoy every minute of it.