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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State University will host a maker fair and symposium April 8 and 9 on the OSU campus in Corvallis.

The event, produced by a campus-community partnership called The Co., has expanded this year into a two-day celebration with a focus on education. It is free and open to the public. 

"Maker" culture is a popular movement honoring craftsmanship and technology and the sharing of knowledge, skills and resources. This event offers an opportunity to collaborate, innovate and create, and also provides a forum for teaching the value of hands-on learning in classrooms from kindergarten through college.

"The Co. gives people working in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and people working the arts a rare opportunity to step outside our respective comfort zones and to rethink our familiar assumptions about research and education," said Ray Malewitz, academic coordinator for The Co. and moderator of the symposium. "From this vantage point, we might recover a sense of wonder about the world - how it is and how it might be." 

Oregon Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici is among panelists who will speak during the "STEM to STEAM" symposium, focusing on the integration of the arts into STEM, on April 8. The event will be held from 4-6 p.m. in the Learning Innovation Center, Room 100. Additional information about the symposium and a full list of speakers are available on the event website, www.corvallismakerfair.org/symposium.

The third annual Corvallis Maker Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 9, in the Memorial Union Ballroom and the Student Experience Center plaza at OSU. 

Attendees can speak with experts in the arts, crafts, technology and sciences and join in hands-on learning with exhibitors. Exhibitors include HP Inc.; the OSU Oceanography fab shop; ChickTech; DaVinci Days; students from South Albany High School; the OSU Craft Center; Pi Dads and more.

Michael Town, a physics teacher at Lakeside High School in Seattle, will present an interactive session on skateboard-making. The audience will be involved throughout the process. Space is limited for the session and advance registration is required.

Registration information, a complete schedule, exhibitor list and additional details about the event are available on the event website, www.corvallismakerfair.org.