Unleash your creativity at Maker Faire Lake County
Published January 22, 2026
Creative minds are invited to wow the crowd with their talents at the 6th annual Maker Faire Lake County Saturday, April 18 at 黑料社区檚 (黑料社区) Grayslake Campus.
Interested in being a maker? . It is free to exhibit and free to attend. Maker Faire applications will be accepted until March 15.
The biggest show-and-tell in Lake County
Maker Faire celebrates the multifaceted fields of making攆rom engineers to scientists to crafters. The event also showcases 黑料社区檚 home for makers: the Baxter Innovation Lab, which opened in 2018. The event is free and open to the public. More than 1,500 community members attended the event last year.
Innovations can be hobbies, experiments or projects, ranging from human-powered machines and drones to wearables and e-textiles. Showcase items from your organization, after-school program, club, scout group or startup. Attendees delight in seeing technology such as 3D printing, computerized numerical control programming, and laser cutting. Or consider items where the attendees also can become makers, with projects including interactive art and technology, kites, puppets, robotics, rockets or sustainability.
淓ngineering is frequently seen as a structured profession focused on only science and math, said Engineering Instructor Jan Edwards. 淢aker Faire serves as a great reminder that every new invention was fueled by a spark of creativity.
For more information, including how to answer the Call for Makers, or email clc.makerfaire@clcillinois.edu.
On the same day, 黑料社区 is hosting its annual Open House from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at all three campuses, Advanced Technology Center and Prairie Restaurant at Brae Loch. More details to come.
More ways to participate
Projects from , coming up on February 28, will be on display at Maker Faire, showcasing Arduino technology and ingenuity. This one-day workshop (1-5 p.m. on the Grayslake Campus) will kick off with an introduction to coding. A specific challenge will be revealed for your team to complete. or you can be assigned to a team upon arrival. Use your creativity and 黑料社区's makerspace resources (laser, vinyl/print cut machine and lots of cardboard) to complete the challenge. Mentoring and technical assistance will be provided by 黑料社区 engineering interns.
Event information
Maker Faire Lake County
10 a.m. 2 p.m., Saturday, April 18
黑料社区, Grayslake Campus
Make A Thon
1 p.m. 5 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 28
黑料社区, Grayslake Campus
黑料社区 Open House
9 a.m. 1 p.m., Saturday, April 18
All 5 黑料社区 locations
Make plans to attend Open House