Brno is hitting its stride, and the city’s vibrant maker community is leading the charge. Often affectionately viewed as Prague’s smaller cousin, this dynamic Czech hub frequently jokes about being little more than a village. Yet, with a massive population and roughly 80,000 students calling it home, there is nothing small about Brno’s creative energy. A potent mix of young minds, big ideas, and an insatiable appetite for technology, traditional craft, and hands-on experimentation has transformed the city into fertile ground for the maker movement.
Since its launch in 2019, Maker Faire Brno has expanded steadily, welcoming approximately 7,500 visitors and hundreds of creators from across Czechia and beyond. Fab Lab Brno has served as an essential partner to the Make More team—the driving force behind Maker Faires throughout the Czech Republic—helping cultivate a thriving community one maker at a time. The momentum continues to build as Maker Faire Brno returns for its eighth edition, bringing together curious minds, skilled engineers, and enthusiastic hobbyists for a weekend dedicated to invention and discovery.
Much of the event’s unique charm stems from its venue. Brno’s Exhibition Halls are tailor-made for a Maker Faire, offering striking architecture, soaring ceilings, floods of natural light, and even an on-site planetarium. Spanning a sprawling main hall alongside countless architectural nooks and crannies, the venue invites exploration. Around every corner, attendees encounter curiosity in action, clever engineering solutions, creative experiments, and serious maker talent.
The Heart of Czech Innovation: Prusa Research
A central pillar of the Czech maker ecosystem, Prusa Research brings its distinctive spirit directly to Brno. Having recently showcased its ingenuity at Maker Faire Bay Area, the company exemplifies what happens when a passion for making is placed at the heart of an enterprise. Prusa’s integrated, in-house approach to manufacturing has made it a global symbol of Czech technical prowess.
At this year’s event, attendees have the opportunity to participate in the Maker Challenge. The competition invites participants to demonstrate how a clever idea and 3D printing can give discarded items a second life as useful, functional tools, with a brand-new Prusa 3D printer up for grabs for the most inventive entry. For those unable to make it to Brno, Prusa will continue its tour at Maker Faire Rome the following week.
Diverse Projects Showcase the Breadth of Creativity
Maker Faire Brno serves as a vibrant crossroads where the traditional boundaries between engineering, art, science, and everyday problem-solving dissolve. The 2026 lineup highlights an immense breadth of creativity, ranging from custom 3D-printed audio equipment and DIY electronics to sustainable agricultural solutions, accessible technology, and complex mechanical tinkering.
Among the standout exhibits is Acoustika 3D, presented by SIMPLIXITY. Born from a shared passion for Drum & Bass music, engineering, and 3D printing, the project features a custom-designed loudspeaker that invites visitors to inspect its internal components and understand how enclosure design directly influences sound propagation.
In the realm of scientific art and chemistry, maker Jan Grygerek presents Sublisica. Utilizing tiny frozen soap-bubble crystals as a starting point, Grygerek encountered limitations with off-the-shelf equipment and subsequently designed his own engraving machine to permanently etch these fleeting, delicate patterns onto glass.
Environmental sustainability also takes center stage through projects like Biouhel. This initiative demonstrates how piles of pruned garden branches can be converted into biochar—a porous, carbon-rich material that helps soil retain crucial water and nutrients while offering potential long-term carbon-storage benefits.
Academic institutions are similarly well-represented, with Masaryk University’s computer science labs translating abstract concepts into physical reality. Researchers are showcasing interactive systems, including a robot capable of drawing with a pen and a marionette controlled entirely by human body movements. These projects transform complex algorithms, robotics, and human-computer interaction into tangible, playable experiences that bridge maker education and hard science.
Other notable contributions include 3Dfil.cz, which serves as a comprehensive playground exploring materials and equipment spanning FDM, resin printing, and high-strength industrial applications. Mechanical tinkerers can visit the "Bearings in action" exhibit to gain hands-on experience removing and reinstalling the critical components that keep skateboards, bicycles, and roller skates moving smoothly.
Security and transportation innovation also feature prominently. The Brno University of Technology is presenting KAMaRAD, a prototype combining traditional sensors with millimeter-wave radar to detect potential road hazards and enhance safety for cyclists and vulnerable road users. Meanwhile, Baťa Customs brings traditional craft and mechanical engineering together through a mobile workshop where visitors can build and customize wooden gravity racers.
Sound and music enthusiasts can explore RaveBOX, an experimental synthesizer and sequencer that encourages participants to twist knobs, construct rhythms, and discover unexpected audio textures. Additionally, high-performance engineering takes to the water with a student-built, 3D-printed RC jet boat powered by a water pump and equipped with custom onboard telemetry controlled by an ESP32 chip, wirelessly transmitting real-time GPS speed, battery voltage, and operating temperatures back to the shore.
Learning by Doing: Workshops and Stage Programs
Maker Faire Brno extends far beyond passive observation, offering an extensive workshop lineup designed to encourage active participation. Spanning disciplines from space engineering and robotics to textiles and digital manufacturing, the sessions cater to participants of all ages and experience levels.
Workshops range from thirty-minute introductory sessions to deep dives lasting ninety minutes or more. Attendees can explore ceramic 3D printing and parametric design, build and program Otto robots, assemble combat robots, or practice fundamental soldering techniques. More advanced tinkerers have the opportunity to work with STM32 microcontrollers or construct working digital clocks using NXP development boards.
Space education is a major focus, featuring hands-on activities with student space teams such as YSpace, where participants can build working CubeSat models, and rocket team SoRC, which guides attendees through designing space-inspired objects. Younger makers can construct and launch water rockets powered simply by water and compressed air.
Practical electronics applications are highlighted in sessions like those hosted by LaskaKit, where participants build Wi-Fi-connected e-paper information displays. Meanwhile, traditional textile arts meet modern technology at the Nitlab workshop, where participants use punch cards to control knitting machines and craft patterned scarves.
Complementing the hands-on workshops, the festival’s stage program features a packed schedule of presentations, panel discussions, and demonstrations. Saturday’s lineup includes a 24-hour Student Hardware Hackathon, space exploration insights from ESERO Czech Republic, and discussions surrounding the growing right-to-repair movement. Sunday highlights the hackathon winners, digital footwear design, student-led artificial intelligence projects, and an open-mic session for independent makers eager to share their latest builds with the community.
