The Rich History and the Exciting Future of the Maker Movement with Dale Dougherty
At its heart, the Maker movement is about rediscovering our own sense of curiosity, exploration, andexperimentation.
In this episode of the Cohere podcast, co-hosts Bill Johnston and Dr. Lauren Vargas welcome Dale Dougherty, the founder of Make: Magazine and Maker Faire, and a person who played a key and critical role in the launch of the Maker Movement. Dougherty shares his career journey and his passionate belief that everyone is inherently a maker.
The conversation takes a deep dive into the history and future of the Maker Movement, discussing the importance of community in both digital and real-life maker experiences. Dougherty also outlines plans for the return of the Bay Area Maker Faire, revealing a new location and expanded schedule. For those new to making or interested in starting their own maker space, Dougherty offers advice and encouragement. Finally, he expresses his excitement about the current moment in the Maker Movement, hinting at the promising future of this global community of thinkers, builders, and dreamers.
“ I think the legacy of the Maker movement someday will be reintroducing hands-on education, experiential learning, not just back into schools, but into communities and into kids’ lives, encouraging them to do things. That is a really great way to learn how to do more.
I use this example of athletics. If we didn’t have athletic fields, If we didn’t have organized sports, a lot of kids wouldn’t know that they had any athletic ability. We have to provide these opportunities, especially in education, for more kids to learn. It’s getting back to our own curiosity and our own sense of exploration, and experimentation that this is possible for lots of people.
And I think the adults in the room need to enable that for more kids, whether it’s your own kids, or your neighbor’s kids, or someone in the community. ”
In this episode, we discuss the following:
[04:26] Introducing Dale Dougherty and discuss his career journey
[08:55] Discussing the return of the Bay Area Maker Faire
[12:56] Exploring the history of the Maker Movement
[22:06] Examining the role of community
[25:10] Showcasing the power of Makers
[29:39] Considering the role of technology and generative AI
[36:32] Sharing advice for someone new to Maker Faire and Making
Mentioned in this episode:
Make Magazine - https://makezine.com/
Maker Faire - https://makerfaire.com/
Make Community - https://www.make.co
Purchase tickets to the Bay Area Maker Faire
About our guest:
DALE DOUGHERTY is the leading advocate of the Maker Movement. He founded Make: Magazine 2005, which first used the term “makers” to describe people who enjoyed “hands-on” work and play. He started Maker Faire in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2006, and this event has spread to nearly 200 locations in 40 countries, with over 1.5M attendees annually. He is President of Make:Community, which produces Make: and Maker Faire.
Call-to-Action(s):
If you liked this episode, check out: The Role of Communities in Navigating Disruption - With Charlene Li and Building Communities with Purpose and Integrity with Carrie Melissa Jones.
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