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White House holds Google+ Hangout in celebration of makers, DIYers everywhere

White House holds Google+ Hangout in celebration of makers, DIYers everywhere

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Obama Maker Movement
Obama Maker Movement

As The Maker Movement continues to pick up steam across America, the Obama administration is taking notice. Today the White House will hold a Google+ Hangout discussing the blossoming DIY community. Describing makers as "young people and adults who are designing and building things on their own time," the administration points to last May's Maker Faire — which drew 120,000 attendees — as evidence of surging momentum. "President Obama believes we need to give more young people the ability to become Makers," writes Kori Schulman, who directs online engagement for the White House's new media team. "The Maker Movement can also promote innovation in manufacturing, one of President Obama’s top priorities"

Unfortunately the commander-in-chief won't be participating in the chat; in his stead will be White House innovation advisor Tom Kalil. Kalil will have several influential makers on hand including Dale Dougherty, founder of MAKE magazine, Tara Tiger Brown of Los Angeles Makerspace, Super Awesome Sylvia from the Super Awesome Maker Show, and others. You'll be able to tune into the Hangout session from WhiteHouse.gov or the administration's Google+ and YouTube pages. We've also embedded video below.