There was a new mover and maker at the eighth annual Maker Faire in San Mateo, Calif. – the 2014 Ford Transit Connect Wagon! Maker Faire is an incredible event that brings together innovative and artistic people to share, create and celebrate arts, crafts, engineering and science projects.

The innovative and flexible Ford Transit Connect Wagon was a natural fit for this crowd as they looked for ways to incorporate their creative and inventive passions into daily life. But Movers and Makers is more than just a vehicle display. Our booth was created by artist Brandon Regner, and it was inspired by his recent quest to find décor for his new home. He wanted to create an environment that was a mix of midcentury modern and loft aesthetics. While unboxing his belongings, he came across a pair of vintage walkie-talkies. One thing led to another and the next thing you know, we had a wall made of cardboard boxes covered in an amazing array of two-way radios converted to act as speakers for a DJ booth.

Since Maker Faire is about being hands-on, we worked with Brandon to give visitors a chance to get their hands dirty and make something. He devised a plan to convert old drill presses into printing presses. Participants were able to make and take a Movers and Makers card.

You can see more highlights from this event and future ones at the Mover and Maker tumbler page. Want to keep up with the latest info about the 2014 Ford Transit Connect Wagon? Like the Facebook page!

During the Maker Fair events, we are also hosting a series of open workshops to help makers get started with the Ford OpenXC platform. This platform enables developers to create apps and accessories that connect to vehicles using software source code and hardware design specifications that are freely accessible – reducing the barriers to innovation. OpenXC can be used to read a wide array of data from the vehicle’s standard on-board diagnostics port and process the data in real-time or later, to create value-added accessories or applications.

Is all of this right up your alley? If so, visit the Movers and Makers display at future Maker Faire events in 2013, and grab a Ford Tech Geek badge!