LEWISTON — They came for the giant soap bubbles and Iron Man suit.

They stayed for the brain wave demonstrations and 3D printer. 

Hundreds of people turned out for the Twin Cities’ second Mini-Maker Faire Saturday, filling three floors of Museum L-A and the museum’s courtyard as they roamed through 30 exhibits, demonstrations and interactive stations.

“It’s cool,” said Megan Woodcock, a Mount Vernon resident and maker fan who’s traveled to large maker events throughout New England. She was surprised — and delighted — when she learned of the Lewiston fair. “It’s nice to see what there is in Maine. Everything is really separated (throughout the state) and it’s really hard to find out what’s really going on without randomly stumbling across it. So this is really cool to see everything.” 

Maker events are designed to highlight the work of tinkerers, hobbyists, inventors and science buffs. Lewiston’s fair ranged from the low-tech  (a build-your-own birdhouse workshop) to the high tech (robots), and featured armaturs, professionals and people who considered themselves a little bit of both.

Chip Audette grew up in Lewiston-Auburn, went to MIT and now works for a New Hampshire company as a mechanical engineer. But Saturday he showed off his burgeoning brain-computer interface skills with a homemade EEG  — electrodes, a laptop, a cheap microcontroller and a cardboard arrow mounted to a sign like the hands of a clock. 

With eyes closed and a little concentration, Audette used brainwaves to make the arrow sweep right.

It was a contraption anyone could make and build upon. Audette hoped it inspired people. 

“There are probably only 2,000 brain scientists in the world. They’re smart people, but there are only 2,000 of them,” he said. “If we can get this to the point more people have access to it, then more people will get engaged. Even if it ends in 99,000 awesome cat videos of cats controlling things with their brains on the Internet, that’s cool if you end up with one more person making a breakthrough in brain science.”

Audette’s table was a popular stop for visitors, as was 3DMicroFactory’s tabletop 3D printer, which created cube earrings for visitors to buy.

“People are fascinated. Particularly the kids,” said Sarah Boisvert, founder of the Rockland-based company.

But low-tech ruled the fair, too. Kids crowded into Home Depot’s woodshop, eager to wield hammer and nails to create their own birdhouse, helicopter toy or mini ring-toss game.

“I never thought I could (make a helicopter),” said Anaya Egge, 6, who attended the fair with friend Mackezie Finnegan, 7. “But sometimes you can if you just follow the directions. Or if you just follow your heart.”

A few yards away, Gene Clough’s homemade telegraph machine was a little quieter. Some people stopped to give it a click or two, but others walked past with just a glance.

Clough, a Bates College science lecturer, hoped the old fashioned technology would entice young people to learn more about the foundation of today’s technology.

“They don’t need a 3D printer. They need to know how to drill a hole in something and solder wires together. . . they really need to start with ore and smelt their own metals out of ore. I mean, that’s where it starts. That is the kind of technology experience young people need,” he said. “They don’t have a clue about how any of it works or where it comes from or what it means to understand it.”

The homemade machine grabbed the attention of at least a few kids, including 12-year-old Farhio Mohamed, who spent several minutes trying to telegraph back and forth with friends. She’d never seen anything like the telegraph before.

“It’s awesome,” she said.

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