It feels like forever since we’ve been able to travel and meet makers, coders, and tinkerers outside of our Pi Towers bubble. So we are super excited that Makers Central is back. We are on our way to Birmingham as we speak and we can’t wait to say hi to as many of you as possible.

The last time Makers Central happened, in 2019, more than 9000 people attended. After a two-year break, the NEC in Birmingham looks set to host an even bigger event.

Both the Saturday and Sunday schedules are packed with some of our favourite YouTubers, and it’s highly likely we’ll be following Ruth and Shawn from Kids Invent Stuff around for the entire weekend. They’re kind of a big deal and we’re super fans.

We also really like the look of newbie The Tiny Turner, real name Emma Cook, one of very few professional women woodturners in the UK. And we definitely think superhero scientist and Mythbusters alumna Tamara Robertson should join our gang.

Free goodies

We aren’t turning up empty-handed, oh no. Come and find us if you want some free Raspberry Pi goodies.

We have mouse mats. We have The MagPi, Wireframe, and HackSpace magazines.

Alex filled an entire backpack with stickers from the special cupboard in the office yesterday, so flag her down if you need something new and shiny to adorn your laptop/phone/notebook/forehead.

Keep an eye on the blog – we’ll report back next week with some photos and stories for those of you who couldn’t make it.