Geocaching HQ joins in the Maker Madness
By: Maria McDonald
The Seattle geocaching community came through strong with over 100 attendees at the recent Maker Madness event hosted by Geocaching HQ. This HQ sponsored event added to the 970 other Maker events spanning more than 50 countries around the world to celebrate something truly special – the amazing ingenuity of our geocache makers! Here’s a quick re-cap on the HQ Maker Madness event in Seattle.
The event kicked off with a quick hello and welcome from Geocaching.com Founders Jeremy Irish and Bryan Roth, who were then followed by nine enthusiastic speakers (including six of our very own HQ staff!) covering a wide range of hider and maker related topics. The presentations included a little something for everyone so that attendees, ranging from potential first time hiders to experienced (and seriously creative!) makers, all got a little taste of the maker magic. We learned about the importance of good coordinates, DIY camouflage (blending yogurt and moss gets you a natural looking fake rock moss coverage… who knew?), how to silence your inner creative critic so your making senses can burst forth and create, and more.
Following the presentations geocachers explored an exhibition highlighting local makers and their most creative caches. Geocachers were able to ask the makers questions and examine all the moving parts on some very unique cache containers.
Curiosity reigned and the enthusiasm was palpable. When I asked how specific caches were chosen for today’s exhibition, Mr. Gadget#2’s wife responded, “He ended up bringing them all. Asking him to chose between his caches would be like asking him to choose which child he likes best.” It is this type of dedication and pride in making great geocaches that elevates the game for us all and makes getting to know other geocachers so much fun.
At the end of the afternoon, happy geocachers and HQ’ers had done what we all do best at events – joined together for a great afternoon of creating memories, sharing stories and inspiring our beloved game to new heights.
My fellow HQ’ers and I all hope that, no matter where or how you celebrated Maker Madness, you now feel a renewed sense of curiosity and creativity, and that you’ve seen the geocache maker inside of you… now go forth and create!
Editor’s Note: Maria McDonald is Geocaching HQ’s Office Manager. She’s also an avid geocacher, and geocaches under the username AKprincesswarrior.
How did you celebrate Maker Madness? Tell us about the event you attended in the comments below.
