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Make: previewed six distinct stage experiences for Maker Faire Bay Area, announced for October 18–20, 2024: a magic-and-robotics show, a Mentos fountain demonstration, interactive science, pedal-powered music, LEGO set identification, and Adam Savage’s Sunday Sermon. Its preview is a guide to what was announced—not confirmation of the final schedule or what took place.
When and where was Adam Savage’s Sunday Sermon?
Make: announced Adam Savage for 11 a.m. on Sunday, October 20, at the Foundry Stage, which the preview locates beneath a large crane at the Mare Island site. It identifies Savage as a MythBusters co-host and founder of Tested.com, and describes his recurring Maker Faire Sunday Sermon as humorous and concise. Those characterizations are Make:’s event-preview description.
What else was announced for the Foundry Stage?
Mario the Maker Magician: robots, magic, and slapstick
Mario the Maker Magician was announced for the Foundry Stage on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The preview describes an all-ages performance blending robots, magic, and Arduino-powered slapstick. It does not give individual set times.
EepyBird: a Coke and Mentos fountain with a science lesson
EepyBird’s presentation was described as a choreographed fountain made with Diet Coke or a similar no-sugar soda and Mentos, paired with an explanation of the science and advice on making DIY nozzles. Make:’s 2024 preview says the previous year’s show used 102 bottles and custom handmade nozzles holding six Mentos each, released by a pin. Those figures describe the earlier show, not the announced 2024 setup. The preview also reported more than 150 million video views for EepyBird, without a platform-by-platform breakdown or measurement date; that is the article’s reported figure, not an independently audited count.
#1 Best Overall
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Science Bob: experiments for parents, teachers, and kids
The preview identifies Bob Pflugfelder—known as Science Bob—as a teacher, author, maker, and presenter. It connects his stage presentation to his broader emphasis on hands-on learning, describing interactive experiments and videos on his website that encourage parents and teachers to try “Random Acts of Science.”
Rock the Bike: music powered by pedaling
Rock the Bike’s announced segment brought a participatory music angle: Make: describes the Oakland-based company as a creator of pedal-powered concert stages. The preview says it had produced more than 150 pedal-powered music events by 2024; that figure is reported by Make:, not presented as an independently audited total.
Rank #2
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Could attendees identify loose LEGO pieces or find a lost set?
Sam Suksiri, described by Make: as a comedian and former LEGO Master Model Builder, was set to show ways to identify unfamiliar pieces and locate sets using search terms, online LEGO catalogs, and AI image search. The preview also says he could help people reconnect with lost sets from a handful of pieces or a remembered description. For anyone with a mixed box of bricks at home, this was the most directly practical segment: it focused on using clues and search tools to identify what the pieces might belong to, rather than on a specific set demonstration.
Which segment best fits your interests?
The preview offered different kinds of stage experiences rather than competing versions of the same show. This guide to choosing among them follows the subjects described by Make: and is not a ranking.
Rank #3
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- Magic and robotics: Mario the Maker Magician’s all-ages mix of robots, magic, and slapstick.
- Spectacle with a DIY explanation: EepyBird’s soda-and-Mentos fountain and nozzle guidance.
- Hands-on learning: Science Bob’s interactive-experiment focus for families and educators.
- Participatory music: Rock the Bike’s pedal-powered stage concept.
- LEGO problem-solving: Sam Suksiri’s piece and set identification methods.
- A featured talk: Adam Savage’s Sunday Sermon.
What the preview does—and does not—confirm
Jennifer Blakeslee’s Make: preview announced the event for October 18–20, 2024, and described the performances planned for it. The available public program source does not establish the final running order, attendance, or what ultimately happened onstage. A separate Maker Faire performer-logistics page concerns stage logistics, but is access-controlled rather than a public performance schedule.
Quick Recap
Best Value
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Rank #4
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