January 30, 2018 | Want to learn how to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world? Then take a tip (or two) from Dale Dougherty, “father” of the Maker Movement, creator of the world-renowned Maker Faire events, and a White House “Champion of Change” honoree who was recognized by President Barack Obama as a significant American innovator. Dougherty will be presenting his ideas at PlayCon when the conference returns May 8 to 9 in San Francisco, CA.
As the founder and CEO of Maker Media, which owns Make: Magazine and Maker Faire, Dougherty believes that the Maker Movement has the potential to transform the educational experience of students and introduce them to the practice of innovation through play and tinkering. PlayCon attendees are sure to be inspired by Dougherty’s passion for creation and invention.
Register for PlayCon, taking place May 8 to 9 in San Francisco. Visit the PlayCon site for a list of up-to-date speakers, hotel information, and other news about the industry’s premier conference for play professionals.
Dougherty started Maker Faire, an event that celebrates the DIY mindset, in the San Francisco Bay area in 2006. Since then, Maker Faire has spread to nearly 200 events in 40 countries, with over 1.5 million attendees. The family-friendly event gathers together tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, food artisans, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, artists, students, and commercial exhibitors to showcase their creations and share their learnings, inspiring others to become Makers themselves.
“As we look to provide the most cutting-edge information and trends to PlayCon attendees, we are excited to include Dale in the conference’s strong line up of speakers,” says Marian Bossard, The Toy Association’s executive vice president of global market events. “His ideas are sure to inspire the maker in all of us.”
Dougherty is the author of Free to Make: How the Maker Movement Is Changing our Jobs, Schools and Minds. He is also a co-author of Maker City: A Practical Guide for Reinventing American Cities.
Prior to founding Make:, Dougherty was a co-founder of O’Reilly Media where he was an editor of many early technical books. While at O’Reilly, he developed the first commercial website, which launched in 1993 and was sold to AOL in 1995.
Nearly a dozen thought-leaders, industry analysts, toy influencers, consumer product executives, and other motivational speakers will lead PlayCon’s short “TED Talk”-like sessions, delivering ideas as diverse as their professional backgrounds. Attendees of Dougherty’s seminar will also receive a free copy of his book, Free to Make.
Each week Toy News Tuesday will feature a new and noteworthy name from the impressive roster of PlayCon speakers. Check back next week for another speaker highlight.