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Friday, March 10, 2017

Portland Public Library announces Call for Presenters for Makers@PPL

Event is April 22, 2017; open call for public presenters: ends March 18, 2017

Portland, Maine - Portland Public Library is pleased to announce Makers@PPL 2017 will be held on Saturday, April 22nd from 10:00am to 3pm at the Main Library.

Makers@PPL is the library’s maker fair– which launched with an inaugural event in April 2015, welcoming close to 2,000 participants, and 75+ presenters and workshop leaders– is a festival of STEM learning for people of all ages and backgrounds. It is an opportunity for the greater Portland community to come together to learn about and take part in creative, hands-on, science based experiences.

As such, Makers@PPL is a program that dovetails perfectly with the Library’s mission to be an engaging presence in the community. The event provides discrete teaching moments and professional development opportunities for STEM teachers, as well student participation in fun and unique STEM activities.

The call for presenters is live, and closes March 18th, so please submit your interest by filling out the form http://bit.ly/2lia9vy and we’ll get back to you by March 25th.

Makers@PPL 2017 will be organized like a conference, with thematic tracks that include: Arts, Technology & Science, and Food & Nature. We are planning a wide range of Children’s and Teen’s workshops as well, and the day will include offerings suitable for members from across the community. Individual sessions will last anywhere from 45 minutes to longer, and an exhibit hall is designed for drop-in-style learning. Participants can stay for the whole day or just attend a session. We have found that this flexible scheduling – along with the fact that this is a free event – helped us attract families with small children as well as a robust number of teen attendees.

Makers@PPL combines elements of the traditional maker movement with STEM learning and community engagement. Topics included in previous years' events included: 3D printer demonstrations, calligraphy writing, soldering, computer building, coding, blacksmithing, cupcake decorating, digital photo conversion, trebuchet construction, modular origami, quilting, and much more.

The fair will take place from 10am-3pm on Saturday, April 22, 2017, throughout the Main Library, and is free and open to the public.

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