Maker Faire Rome 2025: music creates connections, is interactive and even makes light dance

At Maker Faire Rome 2025, you never hear the same music twice

There is the OPENDRUMS project, a portable, open source, inexpensive and assembleable electronic musical instrument created with the aim of bringing musicians closer to the world of making, but there is also HoPE_FE, a permanent laboratory where young people design and carry out interactive scientific experiments: from heartbeats measured with Arduino to sounds created by light. At Maker Faire Rome 2025, you never hear the same music twice.

credits https://angelo-amplifica-emozioni.jimdosite.com/

ANGELO: the sound that breaks the silence, built in 3D

From the visionary mind of Luciano Fumagalli comes ANGELO, a portable, open source, affordable and sustainable amplifier. It is not just a device: it is a tool for creating connections. Created in a centre for people with disabilities, ANGELO aims to be accessible to everyone. Easy to use, customisable, built with recycled materials and 3D printers, it allows you to listen to music, voices and messages. ‘It was designed for those who need to listen and be heard,’ explains Luciano. Behind the project is a story of empathy, ingenuity and inclusion. An amplifier of emotions, it gives a voice back to those who are often left silent.

credits ARI – Associazione Radioamatori Italiani

When all is quiet, OFF-GRID communications

What happens when digital networks go down? That’s when radio comes into play, real radio. In Campagnano di Roma, the ARI (Italian Amateur Radio Association) is bringing a demonstration of off-grid communications to Maker Faire Rome: independent devices that work even without the internet or electricity. ‘We are the first makers in history,’ they say. Radio amateurs have always built, experimented and connected people, even in the most critical moments. And today, with LoRa technology, they can transmit messages over very long distances while consuming very little power. It is a project that recovers the past to protect the future. Because even in a hyper-connected world, resilience is built with an antenna and a lot of passion.

credits Liceo Scientifico “A.Roiti”

HoPE_FE, a lab for everyone in Ferrara

Students at the Liceo Scientifico ‘A. Roiti’ secondary school have brought the spirit of MIT to their school: learning science by building things with their own hands. This led to the creation of HoPE_FE, a permanent laboratory where students design and carry out interactive scientific experiments. From heartbeats measured with Arduino to sounds created by light, to a magnetic accelerator, everything is designed, built and tested by the students. The project promotes peer collaboration, creativity and a culture of prototyping as a form of active learning.

Opendrums, the drum kit reinvented

Giovanni Villani and Domenico Manta, students at the Liceo Scientifico Scienze Applicate (Applied Sciences High School), combined their passion for music with their passion for electronics, inspired from an early age by projects with their fathers. This led to the creation of OPENDRUMS, a portable, open source, inexpensive and easy-to-assemble electronic musical instrument. ‘We wanted to create something that would bring musicians closer to the world of making,“ they say, ‘and vice versa.” After the first circuits on breadboards, they designed the final PCB, combining 3D-printed components with sample player logic. The result? An inclusive and replicable electronic drum kit, designed to make music accessible to everyone.