New York ( CNN ) -- `` Inspiration exists , '' runs a famous quote attributed to Spanish artist Pablo Picasso . `` It just has to find us working . '' And at the Maker Faire , which took place in the grounds of the New York Hall of Science recently , there was plenty of evidence of that hard work . The Maker Faire is a glorious celebration of nerdiness . When exhibitors are n't talking excitedly about Ram or Javascript , or the correct proportion of catalyst to reactant in the conversion of vegetable oil to biofuel , they are showcasing the truly incredible benefits to be reaped from locking yourself away in your room or garden shed for years on end . Brian Patton , for example , a middle school teacher from Trenton , New Jersey , has spent his time building a singing robot . With pipe cleaners for eyebrows and doll 's eyes , the robot is synched to a computer program that Patton wrote himself and allows him to control 17 tiny motors that alter the features of the animatronic face . He moves the features of the face in time to the song by moving a mouse and records each motor individually . The recordings can be played back simultaneously to get the full effect . Watch Erno Rubik on Make , Create , Innovate on Tuesday October 9 on Quest Means Business . The e-puppeteer has an application in mind for his creation -- a teaching aid for children with autism . `` There is already quite a lot of anecdotal evidence that autistic kids respond better to robots than to adults , '' Patton says . `` The robot could be a sort of surrogate teacher for them . They could learn by singing along with it . '' Not all the musical performances at the fair were as complex as Patton 's robots , and some of the best innovations on display were the most simple . Read more : 'Li-Fi ' provides a light bulb moment for wireless web . It 's surprisingly easy to turn vegetable oil into biofuel as Ben Jorritsma , from Sussex County , New Jersey demonstrated . Collecting used vegetable oil from local restaurants to make biofuel at his family farm , Jorritsma claims to make enough to power 20 tractors . `` Most of the production cost is for the methanol , which is used as the reactant , '' explained Jorristsma . `` You need potassium hydroxide as a catalyst . Basically all you 're doing is breaking apart polymers to thin the oil down so that it wo n't clog your engine . '' Sponsored by `` Make Magazine , '' the Maker Faire began in San Mateo , California in 2006 and has since spawned events in Detroit and San Francisco -- which attracted 100,000 visitors last year . Read more : $ 30 gadget lets you control computer with your eyes . This is the third time the show has come to New York where it received the endorsement of Mayor Michael Bloomberg , who declared the week leading up to this year 's fair `` Maker Week '' in the city . One of the best things about the event is the spirit of openness that seems to pervade , with exhibitors incredibly generous about sharing their hard-earned knowledge . Special FX expert Marc Fields , for example , hosted a seminar explaining some of the how-tos of creating movie props . He showed how paints containing powdered metal can be splashed with acid to create metal oxides that give the effect of natural rusting , and how to make fake tree bark from a mold ingeniously colored using carpet scrapings . `` I want people to see that they could go home and do a lot of this stuff themselves , '' said Fields , who has built props for enclosures at the Bronx Zoo and worked on Hollywood movies such as `` Cold Mountain . '' This DIY ethos is probably the strongest theme binding all the participants . Near the end of the day , I meet Jason Naumoff , an event organizer based outside San Francisco . A few years ago , Naumoff put together a competition that offered entrants the chance to build a machine in just 72 hours from `` conception to reality . '' Now sponsored by the energy drink maker Red Bull , the theme of this year 's competition was `` games '' and included a centrifuge made with a golf cart engine that spun players at up to five times the force of gravity . `` When you leave people to their own devices and do n't constrain them , the results are mind-blowing , '' Naumoff said .
Maker ##s in New York provides a platform for inventors to showcase their ingenious inventions . Organized by ` ` Make Magazine , '' the event attracts many DIY inventors and thousands of visitors . Vast variety of ideas and projects on display from animatronic robots to special effects masterclasses .