Halloween Makers’ Contest at Jacobs Hall

Note: This post is about Jacobs events for Halloween 2016. For information about Halloween 2018 events, go here.

With autumn upon us, the Jacobs Institute is hosting a Halloween Makers’ Contest, open to everyone with a fall 2016 Maker Pass. In keeping with our belief in hands-on experimentation, this contest is a chance for students to explore new design practices and tools, from the sewing machines to the vacuum former. It’s also an opportunity to bring novel ideas — whether silly, sophisticated, or spooky — into the Jacobs Institute’s environment, prompting learning and skill-sharing through spirited creation.

About the Contest

Use your Maker Pass to create your Halloween costumes, props, and decorations — then win bragging rights and prizes for your DIY creations on October 31st. Everyone with a fall 2016 Maker Pass is eligible to join the competition.

Contest rules

• Both costumes and props/decorations are welcome.
• Submissions must be made, at least in part, with Jacobs Hall or CITRIS Invention Lab fabrication equipment.
• No functional or realistic weapons.

Prizes

• Grand prize winners in the costume and prop/decoration categories can choose between a pair of tickets to Exploratorium After Dark and a copy of The Art of Tinkering: Meet 50+ Makers Working at the Intersection of Art, Science & Technology.
• Honorable mentions will receive $10 gift cards to the Jacobs material store.
• Everyone will get lots of candy.

Judging

• The contest and party will be held on October 31st, 12-1pm, in 310 Jacobs Hall (everyone is welcome to come to the party; RSVP here). Winners will be determined by audience approval, so make your submissions as creatively frightening and frighteningly creative as possible!
• If you can’t come to the event but still want to participate, email your contest submission(s) to jacobsinstitute@berkeley.edu, with the subject heading “Halloween Makers’ Contest,” by October 30th at 11:59pm. Include a photo or video of your submission and one paragraph about how you made it at Jacobs Hall and/or the CITRIS Invention Lab.

Get started

• Check out all of the fabrication equipment available in Jacobs Hall and the CITRIS Invention Lab.
• Pass the safety trainings for equipment that you plan to use.
• Consider attending a Design Night workshop to pick up some useful design skills.
• Look online for inspiration:
  • Halloween costume ideas (Instructables)
  • 30 High Tech Halloween Costumes to Buy or DIY (Brit + Co)
  • Pepakura (Instructables)
  • 10 coolest laser cut ideas for Halloween (Steammetry)

Questions? Contact Amy Dinh, Student Services Advisor.