(Dearborn, MI – December 4, 2009) – Makers from all over the nation will make their way to The Henry Ford, in Dearborn, Michigan for Maker Faire, July 31-August 1, 2010. This two-day, family-friendly event celebrates creative and resourceful people in the areas of science and technology, engineering, food, and arts and crafts. Additional information will be released as it becomes available.

“At its core, Maker Faire Detroit is about the possibility of what ordinary individuals can do,” said Patricia Mooradian, president of The Henry Ford. “It’s about people being resourceful and innovative, using their hands, and tinkering to create actual objects and, possibly, to use those objects to create change. The great innovators of our past—Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, the Wright Brothers—all believed in exploring new ideas, and making new things to create a better world. There is simply no better place to bring this event to than Detroit. We are the birthplace of modern manufacturing and today we are a hotbed of innovation. We are a region brimming with doers, thinkers and makers.”

Created by the publishers of MAKE magazine and makezine.com, Maker Faire draws tech and DIY enthusiasts. The event attracts families, school teachers, students, local science, hobby and tech clubs, as well as those who are drawn by a curiosity for the unorthodox and often whimsical MacGyver-like nature of Makers and their projects. Maker Faire will feature demonstrations and hands-on workshops over the two days. Visitors will enjoy arts and crafts, science and engineering, robotics, sustainable living, music and fine arts, fun for kids and families and more.

“We’re excited to partner with The Henry Ford, which celebrates the history of American makers,” said Dale Dougherty, publisher of MAKE magazine (in print and online at makezine.com). “We’re also excited to bring our event to Detroit to showcase the technical and creative talent of the region.”

About Maker Faire: Maker Faire’s mission is to inspire, inform, connect and entertain thousands of Makers and aspiring Makers of all ages and backgrounds through the public gathering of tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkers, hobbyists, science clubs, students, authors and commercial exhibitors. Started in San Mateo, California in 2006, Maker Faire will hold the 5th annual festival in the Bay Area this May, 22 & 23, in San Mateo, California. As Maker Faire continues to grow in popularity and relevance, Maker Faire will expand to two new cities in 2010, Detroit and New York City. See the Maker Faire website for details www.makerfaire.com. Maker Faire is supported by MAKE Magazine, makezine.com, craftzine.com and O’Reilly Media, the premier information source for leading-edge computer technologies. The company’s books, conferences and web sites bring to light the knowledge of technology innovators.

About The Henry Ford: The Henry Ford, in Dearborn, Michigan, is the world’s premiere history destination and a National Historic Landmark that celebrates American history and innovation. Its mission is to provide unique educational experiences based on authentic objects, stories and lives from America’s traditions of ingenuity, resourcefulness and innovation. Its purpose is to inspire people to learn from these traditions to help shape a better future. Five distinct attractions at The Henry Ford captivate more than 1.5 million visitors annually: Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village, The Ford Rouge Factory Tour, The Benson Ford Research Center and The Henry Ford IMAX Theatre. The Henry Ford is also home to Henry Ford Academy, a public charter high school which educates 485 students a year on the institution’s campus and was founded in partnership with The Henry Ford, Ford Motor Company and Wayne County Public Schools. For more information please visit our website thehenryford.org.

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Entries to the competition are evaluated by an 18-member jury, led by John Barratt, IDSA, president and CEO of Teague. This panel of world-renowned designers and design thinkers will preview entries online, followed by two-and-a-half days of intense, face-to-face evaluation and debate. Judging criteria will focus on eight areas of industrial design excellence: design innovation; benefit to the user; benefit to the client/business; benefit to society; ecological responsibility; appropriate aesthetics and appeal; usability testing; rigor and reliability (Design Research category); and internal factors and methods, implementation (Design Strategy category). Fast Company will announce the 2010 winners in its July/August issue.

New for 2010, IDSA has partnered with The Henry Ford, in Dearborn, Michigan. This premiere history destination is home to one of the greatest industrial design collections in the world. The 2010 finalist designs will become part of The Henry Ford’s permanent collection.

The entry period opens next Monday, Nov. 30. Regular deadline is Jan. 25; late deadline is Feb. 8.

Visit www.idsa.org/idea for full details. With questions email idea@idsa.org.

(DEARBORN, MI – NOVEMBER 3, 2009) – ‘Tis the season for The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come! On November 6, audiences will be completely immersed in a thrilling new version of one of the most beloved holiday classics of all time when Disney’s A Christmas Carol: An IMAX 3D Experience opens at The Henry Ford IMAX Theatre. Digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX 3D Experience® through proprietary IMAX DMR® technology, Disney’s A Christmas Carol: An IMAX 3D Experience will debut concurrently with the nationwide theatrical release. In addition, The Henry Ford IMAX Theatre is the only IMAX theatre in the country to feature the IMAX 3D animated short, Paint Misbehavin’, before every show of Disney’s A Christmas Carol: An IMAX 3D Experience! This fun holiday short is a special treat that audiences of all ages will enjoy.

Through the all-encompassing power of IMAX 3D on Michigan’s largest IMAX screen, audiences will reach for the falling snowflakes, feel the rumble of the horse-drawn carriages over the cobblestone streets and soar with Scrooge high above the London night sky. Unlike the digital 3D at the multiplex, IMAX 3D film projection provides crystal-clear images, a maximized field-of-view, and a 3D viewing pyramid that not only extends into the depth of the screen, but brings images like those falling snowflakes out into the center of the theatre, transporting the viewer into the story. This is the magic of IMAX 3D film projection—it puts audiences IN the movie they’re watching.

“It’s as if Charles Dickens wrote this story to be a movie—it’s so visual and cinematic,” says Robert Zemeckis, director/producer/screenwriter. “It’s the greatest time-travel story ever written and I wanted to do the movie the way I believe it was originally envisioned by the author.”

Disney’s A Christmas Carol, a multi-sensory thrill ride re-envisioned by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, captures the fantastical essence of the classic Dickens tale in a groundbreaking IMAX 3D motion picture event.

Ebenezer Scrooge (JIM CARREY) begins the Christmas holiday with his usual miserly contempt, barking at his faithful clerk (GARY OLDMAN) and his cheery nephew (COLIN FIRTH). Scrooge later encounters the ghost of his dead business partner Joseph Marley, who’s paying the price in the afterlife for his own callousness. Marley hopes to help Scrooge avoid a similar fate and tells him he will be visited by three spirits. But when the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come take Old Scrooge on an eye-opening journey revealing he’s reluctant to face, he must open his heart to undo years of ill will before it’s too late.

Walt Disney Pictures and ImageMovers Digital present Disney’s A Christmas Carol, a production directed by Robert Zemeckis from his own adaptation based on the classic novella by Charles Dickens. The film is the first developed by ImageMovers Digital, which was created by Robert Zemeckis, Steve Starkey and Jack Rapke to develop 3D performance capture films exclusively for The Walt Disney Studios. Disney’s A Christmas Carol is produced by Starkey, Zemeckis and Rapke.

Disney’s A Christmas Carol will be distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. This film has been rated PG for scary sequences and images.

The Henry Ford IMAX Theatre is located at 20900 Oakwood Boulevard in Dearborn. For information on tickets and showtimes, please call (313) 982-6001 or visit the website at thehenryford.org.

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/achristmascarol/

About The Henry Ford IMAX Theatre

Part of The Henry Ford – America’s Greatest History Attraction – The Henry Ford IMAX Theatre opened in 1999 and is Michigan’s largest IMAX theatre having the capability to show both 2D and 3D IMAX films. The theatre features Michigan’s largest IMAX screen – over six stories tall & eight stories wide, highest seating capacity, and a 12,000-watt 6-channel digital surround sound system. IMAX films are projected via a 15,000-watt xenon arc lamp utilizing 15-perforation/70mm IMAX film stock (ten times larger than conventional 35mm film) which offers the best-possible image reproduction in motion picture projection. With crystal-clear images, 12,000 watts of digital surround sound, and a maximized field-of-view on its gigantic IMAX screen, The Henry Ford IMAX Theatre provides Michigan’s most immersive and powerful movie experience – visitors will feel as if they are truly IN the movie they’re watching. For film updates and additional information, visit thehenryford.org or connect with us on Facebook at facebook.com/imaxhenryford.

IMAX®, IMAX® 3D, IMAX® DMR, The IMAX 3D Experience®, and The IMAX Experience® are trademarks of IMAX Corporation. More information about the Company can be found at www.imax.com. You may also connect with us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/imax), Twitter (www.twitter.com/imax) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/imaxmovies).

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