Vermont students are making their mark in the “maker” movement. At this year's Champlain Maker Faire, 11-year-old Noah Schwartz stood in front of dozens, including a group of angel investors on motorcycles, FreshTracks Road Pitch Riders, to pitch “Noah's Fizzy Maple Lemonade”. Noah, competing against those who graduated college and beyond, won first place.
Noah started his lemonade business to help fund his air-compressed rocket business he began at age 8, after attending the first Champlain Maker Faire. Noah’s compressed air rockets allow kids to make their own rocket out of paper and tape. He has been nominated for the NBC show Little Big Shots with Ellen DeGeneres and Steve Harvey. “Noah did a better job pitching than most adults,” said the Road Pitch Riders.
Never heard of a Maker Faire? No idea what “making” means? Making is creating, producing, crafting, shaping, tinkering, composing, and building. It sits at the intersection of art and science, and at the crossroads of technology and design. It engages people of all ages, creates solutions to real-life problems and stimulates growth of the "innovation force." It is as much about people as it is technology.