Bowler Elementary Seeking ‘Makers’ In Community

Grant Bowler Elementary School is calling all creators, innovators and hobbyists in the community to participate in its first ever Maker Faire to be held on Thursday, January 17 at the school.

This includes artists, inventors, crafters; anyone who makes and creates in the Moapa Valley and are willing to share it with local students. Applications for those wishing to participate are due on Thursday, December 20.
“It is part of the new design thinking focus at our school,” said Bowler teacher Marianne Ekenstam who is coordinating the Faire. “We are looking for anyone who is passionate about making and doing things.”

Exhibitors will be given space at the Faire to show and demonstrate how their crafts and creations are made. The focus is on education for the kids.
“We are discouraging it from becoming too commercial,” Ekenstam said. “We don’t want it to become a flea market. But it is an opportunity for creative people to show what they have done and to talk about how they do it.”

The idea came from a trip that the Bowler Leadership Team took to a similar event at Thanksgiving Point, Utah earlier this year, Ekenstam said.
“They were calling it the Greatest Show and Tell on Earth,” she said of the major Utah event. “It was really fascinating. And we decided, with all of the talented people in this community, that we could do something on a smaller scale locally.”

Already planned for the Bowler event is exhibits in beadworking, robotics, 3D printing, and even someone who makes guitars, Ekenstam said. Other displays could include demonstrations in woodworking, metal work, sewing, sculpture, art and any other type of manufacturing or crafting.

More information and applications for participating in the Faire are available at the school’s website at www.gmbowleres.com. Act fast, though, because the deadline is December 20.