The second and final day of World Maker Faire New York 2014 was humid and hot, but the swampy weather couldn’t dampen the energy of the thousands of makers swarming the grounds of the New York Hall of Science to explore, create, and learn.  Perhaps nowhere at Maker Faire was this energy more palpable than in our Webmaker tent, where representatives from all over Mozilla’s global Hive Learning Networks gathered for another day of making and teaching the Web.

Sunday’s activities – which garnered two World Maker Faire Best in Show ribbons! – got makers of all ages hacking and creating through a variety of hands-on projects.  Attendees remixed websites with X-Ray Goggles, combined fashion and technology by braiding fabric and LED headbands with Brooklyn College Community Partnership, and produced shadow puppetry stop-motion animations with BRIC.

“I’ve been back to this tent a couple of times this weekend because these activities are fun, but I guess I’m learning stuff about the internet, too, so that’s cool,” said Ruth, a middle schooler from Ohio, as she hacked a newspaper website to show her own custom headlines.

Attendees were not the only ones learning from all of the activities happening in our space, however.  Because our Webmaker exhibitors and workshop teachers were drawn from all over the global Hive network, activity leaders had the opportunity to learn from and engage with new peer organizations from all over the world.  The Toronto Public Library created flip book animations next to the aquaponics garden created by Chicago’s Sweet Water Foundation.  New York’s World Up and Carnegie Hall made music next to sculptural game controllers created by Pittsburgh’s assemble.  New cross-city connections were formed, creating the opportunity for the activities we shared here to be scaled across our network.  Hive organizations will be building Chicago’s robot hands in Chattanooga, sharing Chattanooga’s coding games for elementary schoolers in Chicago,  and expanding the work we started at Maker Faire well beyond the 70,000+ people who have passed through over the last two days.

This ability to share and scale programs across cities is part of what’s so exciting about Hive’s ever-expanding network. Indeed, the potential impact of Hive Learning Networks on how we create, grow, and scale connected learning experiences for youth is staggering. That’s why we’re continuing that work at MozFest 2014, joining forces across Hive cities next month in London to solve shared challenges and scale web literacy and digital skills.
If our World Maker Faire tent was a microcosm of the global Hive network, MozFest will be Hive at scale, bringing together hundreds of organizations, leaders, and future catalysts. We hope you’ll consider joining us.  In the meantime, follow along online with hashtag #HiveBuzz on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook because, even though Maker Faire is over, the making never stops!