MAKE: Blog: Maker Faire: The Life-Sized Mousetrap

Maker Faire: The Life-Sized Mousetrap

Playamousetrap
The Life-Sized Mousetrap will make its Maker Faire debut this year. Don't miss out on this 25,000-lb, superbly interactive kinetic sculpture reminiscent of the classic board game. Its makers say -

The unique design of this giant, Rube Goldberg-style contraption was cleverly gleaned from the memories of childhood, twisted out of scale, then sketched beyond life size. It features an enormous construct of crazy stairs, a flame-throwing lamppost, careening bowling balls, and a hand-built, 30-foot-tall crane capable of lifting and dropping 5 tons! The object of this vaudevillian encounter is to "accomplish by complex means what seemingly could be done simply"! So our lucky players get to lift a 400-lb cast-iron bathtub 13 feet into the air, crank cranks, load springs and turn impossibly huge gears, all in a supreme effort to crush a trinket of meaning (say, a 1,200 lb pumpkin) under a falling 2-ton bank safe! The Mousetrap is impressive as a static sculpture, but it is the motion, started by a human, that is the heart of its existence.

The Maker Faire is May 19 & 20 at the San Mateo Fairgrounds. Get your tickets in advance now, avoid the lines and save a few bucks.

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WOW! Thanks to everyone involved with Maker Faire Bay Area and Maker Faire Austin in 2008: attendees, makers, exhibitors, sponsors, volunteers, and crew...it was an AMAZING year! Over 1,000 Makers and 87,000+ attendees total! Be sure to check out the photos @ Flickr, and our Maker Faire posts for all the action! Check back for dates for 2009 soon!