​​​​​​​Saturday Programming (AutomataCon Ticket Required)

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Opening Ceremonies

Saturday, 10am – 10:45am, Bickford Theatre

Brett King, AutomataCon Founder and Convention Chair

Tom Loughman, Executive Director of the Morris Museum

Marc Horovitz, Automata Magazine

Mark Hayward, Emcee

ASGARD and Lady Wheelsworth, an automaton and her maker

Music, Machines, and Me

Marian van Dijk, Director of Museum Speelklok in Utecht, the Netherlands

Saturday, 10:45am – 11:45am, Bickford Theatre

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Hear about Music, Machines and Me, the entirely newly furnished upper floor of Museum Speelklok, which opens on April 14th.

The goal of this semi-permanent exhibition is to encourage young people to build a music machine themselves. The museum provides the building blocks — technology, music, and programming — and place collection, art, and everyday objects side by side.

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Meet the Exhibitors / Lunch Break

Saturday, 11:45am – 1:45pm

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Take time to explore the exhibitor hall and speak with the exhibitors, create an automaton in a workshop in one of the classrooms or SparkLab, or get a guided tour of the Murtogh D. Guinness Collection of Mechanical Musical Instruments and Automata (1pm-4pm). You can also grab some food from one of the food trucks outside the front of the museum.

Inside John Gaughan’s Workshop

Brett King (Moderator), Mark Hayward (Moderator), John Gaughan, Jeff Chang

Saturday, 1:45pm – 3pm, Bickford Theatre

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John Gaughan is a legendary creator, historian, and restorer of illusions for stage magicians, as well as automata. John will be joined by his lead fabricator, Jeff Chang. We will begin the panel with a showing of the new documentary film, “Antonio and the Last Wizard”, directed by Eros Zhao, which is premiering at the Magic Castle in May. The movie tells the story of John’s restoration of illusionist Robert Houdin's acrobat automaton, Antonio Diavolo. We will then hear stories about the wonders that have been created and collected in John’s workshop, followed by a Q&A.

The Sam Zell Automata Collection, 1994-2015

Madison Schnell

3:15pm – 4:15pm, Bickford Theatre

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The Sam Zell Automata Collection at the University of Michigan Law Library comprises 21 automata created between 1994-2015. These automata were commissioned by Samuel "Sam" Zell (1941-2023), a billionaire who acquired his fortune through investing in distressed properties and corporations. Zell had a tradition of distributing unique year-end gifts to his friends, colleagues, customers, and high-profile individuals. As a part of this tradition, Zell commissioned a series of automata to be distributed as year-end gifts between 1994 and 2015. These automata were designed to represent Zell's perception of the business climate at the point of their creation, as well as predictions for the year ahead. This presentation will include an overview of all 21 automata, including information about their creators, their thematic elements, and the materials used in their construction.

Automata in Education and Exhibitions

Mark Hayward (Moderator), Aaron Kramer, Jay Mankita

Saturday, 4:30pm – 5:30pm, Bickford Theatre

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A panel discussion about STEAM education utilizing automata as an onramp to engineering and the arts. Through a lively discussion about schools, camps, museums and public displays, the panel will discuss how to use automata to engage and educate students and the public. If you are a maker, educator, or aspiring presenter you will definitely gain something from this talk.

Artist and educator Aaron Kramer currently has a show up at the Oceanside Museum of Art called Sense of Wonder. It is a 35 year retrospective of his mechanical work and has educational outreach components to his show as well. 

Jay Mankita is a teaching artist and founder of Playful Engineers, a traveling maker space program that brings hands-on mechanical building experiences to schools, libraries, and community spaces.

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