Main Page

From Bloominglabs
Revision as of 10:38, 31 July 2013 by Sdcharle (Talk | contribs)

Jump to: navigation, search

Welcome to Bloominglabs, Bloomington's very own hackerspace!

Bloominglabs is Indiana's first hackerspace (also known as a makerspace). We are a group of community members that have commonly rented a place where we can build projects both collectively and individually. We are open to the public on Wednesday evenings from 7pm until 10pm and are family friendly.

Contents

Support

We are a non-profit now! Bloominglabs is incorporated as its own entity in the state of Indiana, and is fiscally sponsored by School Factory, Inc., a 501(c)3 charitable organization. Want to make a donation with PayPal? Please use this link:

  • (Note to members - this link should not be used for paying membership dues)


Information for our members: this is how we process cash and hardware Donations.

News

  • We have acquired a Laser cutter.
  • We have acquired a mill. If want to chip in for it, add your pledge to the Mill page.
  • We have lockers available for rent now!!


Current Events (PastEvents)

  • Decorate the 4th Street pedestrian bridge for WCIW!
    • The third week of April is World Creativity & Innovation Week. Bloominglabs is going to celebrate by decorating the pedestrian bridge that runs over 4th Street connecting Fountain Square Mall to the Garage Art parking garage.
    • We met at Bloominglabs on Tuesday, April 16th, between 6pm and 10pm to brainstorm. We came up with quite a few decorative ideas for the bridge.
  • Makevention
    • Come celebrate the maker's movement in Bloomington!
    • Exhibitors will be charge a nominal fee ($10 a table, free if you bring your own)
    • The event is free for attendees
    • Outdoor and indoor exhibitor space
    • August 24th at the Bloomington Convention Center
    • Check out http://www.makevention.org/ for more information.
  • Public Hack Meetings!
    • Every Wednesday from 7pm until 10pm
    • Come build projects, ask questions, teach things, and learn stuff
    • All ages and everyone is welcome
  • Summer Workshops
    • We'll be holding a variety of workshops this summer and will post dates both here and to our announcement mailing list when we finalize them
    • These should include: rain and compost barrel making, machining, vector graphic design and tool use, cutting and engraving with the laser...
    • Our members are also working with WonderLab and the Monroe County Public Library to help each with summer educational programs

Membership

We are accepting memberships! Please see the Membership Manual for details. If you are a new member please check out the New Members page as well.

Meetings

Currently we meet every Wednesday at 7:00pm at 3927 W. Roll Avenue, Bloomington, Indiana. These meetings are open to the public; anyone is welcome to attend. We usually meet for 2-3 hours and have a lot of fun. Having access to tools is only part of the equation, socializing with people and learning from each other is another large benefit from our group. Pretty much whatever people want to work on or learn is fair game. We currently have an electronics and robotics focus but there's also interest in general science and astronomy as well. If it's cool and interesting then we are all interested.


Our Location

We have 1,000 sq ft of which 750 sq ft is unfinished, cement floor workspace and 250 sq ft is finished office space for hanging out. There's also a full bathroom. The address is 3927 W. Roll Avenue which is just north of 2nd Street up Curry Pike. Come check it out! [MAP]



Laser Cutter

We have funded a laser cutter, which is now on-site!! What can people do with this you might ask?? It can cut light wood and acrylic for rapid prototyping. It can also etch wood, acrylic, and metal. Many objects from iphones to laptops can be directly engraved with a laser. Be sure to watch some videos here, here, and here.

We have a 5th generation 40W laser from Full Spectrum.


Who are we?

We are a bunch of people that want to do interesting things and explore the world and technology around us. Expression of this interest takes at least as many forms as we have members, and often employs an amalgam of found and newly-constructed hardware and/or open-source and self-authored software components, but may be as simple as screwing some pieces of wood together to make a useful tool we don't have yet.

Bloominglabs was forged from the Bloomington Hackerspace Initiative and the former IU Robotics Club.

  • Read our Bylaws for a more formalized overview

Stay informed


Grants

Kits For Sale

Bloominglabs is a reseller of adafruit kits and products. See KitsForSale for details.

For members: check out our page about selling things at the workshops at SellingThings and for calculating sales tax, check out Sales Tax Calculator for 47401


Workshops/Classes

We are currently working on our summer workshop schedule and will post it soon.

Reserve a spot at any of our workshops or classes by sending email to contact]at[bloominglabs.org.


What is a hacker space?

It's a physical location where people can share resources for their own creative pursuits. It's also a resource where people can come in off the street and advance their own knowledge. In urban locations it can often be hard to find places to weld/build/make noise and keep projects on-going without having to tear down and put-up your work each evening. With a hacker space people can work on their projects and not worry about annoying their neighbors or spouses. The social aspect is also an incredibly important component. Having people to bounce ideas off of and discuss your projects with when you get stuck is a great thing.


Current Projects

Projects


What needs to be done yet?

Check out the Todo list to see the latest things we need to get done.

Also see who else is working on this project: Special:ListUsers

Uploaded files: Special:ImageList


Nearby Hacker Spaces or initiatives:


Other Cool Groups in Bloomington

Retrieved from "http://irc.bloominglabs.org/index.php?title=Main_Page&oldid=1658"
Personal tools