Bay Area inventors attend White House Maker Faire

WASHINGTON (KGO) -- Three Bay Area inventors were part of the White House's first ever Maker Faire on Wednesday, an event which showcased new ideas and technologies.

President Barack Obama welcomed entrepreneurs and inventors from around the country, along with their amazing creations.

The White House hosted the event to promote the use of new tools and techniques to start up new businesses, to boost manufacturing, and to strengthen science and math education.

The president had some fun with all he saw.

"What on earth have you done to my house?" he said to laughter. "I mean, there's a mobil factory on the South Lawn, there's a robotic giraffe, there's a giant red weather balloon in the Rose Garden, there's a paper craft dinosaur head in the hallway."

The president called on people across the country to join the effort to spark creativity and encourage invention in their communities.

The Bay Area inventors at the White House included Jane Chen, a student at Stanford who created a low cost infant warmer that doesn't require electricity. The $200 incubator, called Embrace, has helped more than 50,000 babies around the globe.

The second local inventor was Marc Roth, who learned basic woodworking skills at the TechShop facility while homeless. He turned those skills into a business called SF Laser to provide custom laser-cutting and etching services. He now works with The Learning Shelter to help others get back on their feet.

And the third was Manu Prakash, PhD, an assistant professor at Stanford who is working to bring low cost scientific tools to school children. His designs include "Foldscope" an origami-style paper microscope that costs less than a dollar to make.