The eighth annual Piedmont School Maker Faire was packed with families last Sunday, as central Piedmont played host to two family-friendly events. Children and their parents checked out student STEAM projects from PUSD schools, along with community projects like Riveropolis and the UC Berkeley Seismology Laboratory, and conducted their own experiments. Members of the PHS robotics teams — one of which recently made it to the semifinals at a world robotics tournament in Houston — were on hand to share their work.
The popular event is sponsored by Piedmont Makers.
The corridor between the 30s building and the new theater is lined with booths and a winding water feature 
Young engineers test out the boats and structures they created in the flowing water 
Intrigued by the wood puzzles by Westlee Saperstein 
Kids test out their newly created rockets 
Piedmont Education Foundation Director Heather Frank creates Bath Fizzies 
Westlee Saperstein with mom Sunny points out features of his wood marble mazes 
A young girl delights in making extra large bubbles at the bubble making demo area 
Beach student Ethan Grossberg shares information about Turkey Tails, a funghi with healing properties 
Wildwood student Grace T tests out her structure out at the middle school science display 
Siblings make motorized cars with wood, wheels, and a battery 
Makers create cars and rockets 
A sample wood car 
Youngsters test out the speed of their cars on a ramp that runs from the top stair to the bottom of the PHS amphitheater 
A robotic demonstration is set up in the exterior courtyard in the new PHS STEAM building 
A sign congratulating the Highlander Robotics team for reaching the semifinals in Houston 
Robotics team members Isaac Saxonov, Ben Perez, Oscar Van Gelder, and Clayton Toste