Allentown ArtsFest!
Our friends at The Alternative Gallery in Allentown invited us to participate at ArtsFest this year, and we're so glad they did! It was an amazing weekend of art, music, and food. We were set up in the Voyager Tent, a location specifically for celebrating the intersection of Art and Technology. And with two different hands-on activities, we were busy all day long.
Big thanks to all our members who came out to help!
"Learn to Solder" is always a hit. It's so great to see someone's face light up when they complete their first working circuit.
And Katie's "Laser-cut Cross Stitch" was a wonderful addition. This project puts a modern spin on a very old craft, using laser-cut wood instead of fabric.
We met a ton of amazing people and had a great time all weekend. Can't wait to do it all again next year!
What’s up @MakeLV! (7/25/2017)
So it's been a month and there's a whole lot going on; brace yourselves for an influx of information.
Before we dive in, remember that this coming Saturday July 29th LVTech is visiting the space! The LVTech Family Field Trip event starts at 11:30AM and will include some short presentations, food, activities, projects to look at, etc. You can get more information and RSVP to the Meetup event here or here.
The board meeting was on Wednesday July 12th (minutes here, with new format by our Secretary Will!) and it was another busy one. We made our new 3D printer decision and have purchased a KL Services Fablicator! Once delivered, there will be a training held on the unit at the space on a weeknight evening around 6PM. The exact date will be posted here and to the list, etc so the most folks possible can attend. Many thanks to a number of members who stepped up and donated money to help us afford this - Ed, Will, Jared, Chris, Danny, Jonas and Richard.
After a very successful Space Pride Day on Saturday 7/8, we elected to purchase some other must-haves for the space: A 6' Werner step ladder to assist with getting to high shelves, two Bosch drill/drivers and a Makita drill driver to replace our terrible Harbor Freight unit, an upright vacuum for the lounge, and a floor attachment for our shop vac so we can keep the floor in the rest of the shop tip top. I also don't think I mentioned that we got a brand new, super quiet air compressor compliments of Ed and Jared a short while ago.
We've been getting a lot of questions about World Maker Faire this year and we've decided we WILL be running the trip! We reserved a bus and got our group discount code. We'll be leaving Saturday September 23rd at 8AM and adult tickets wil be $75, with discounts for children and students available. More info to come very soon. Tickets will be available for purchase via an Eventbrite event that will be up once everything is finalized.
At member request, we've also joined our Slack and IRC channels! All the traffic in either place is relayed to the other. Our IRC channel is #makelv on Freenode, and members can request an invite to our Slack via email to the list or by contacting a member, tweet at us, or generally getting hold of us in any way 
I have a mess of pictures to post from the past few weeks so look for that soon!
Lehigh Valley Mini Maker Faire: Welcome!
Hello Makers!
We hope you had an amazing time at the Lehigh Valley Mini Maker Faire this past weekend! We all had a great time meeting with the community showing tons of people how to solder, and showing off what we do as a makerspace. We look forward to getting to know you all and can’t wait to see what cool things you’re working on.
Nearly everyone who signed up was interested in becoming a member, and we couldn't be happier to welcome new members into our group. Follow the link here for our public docs and find the Membership Application and Liability Waiver. Once you have it filled out, you can hand it to any board member for review.
While we’re planning our upcoming events, we encourage you to spend time getting to know our community, share your interests, and get involved, here’s how:
- Join / idle in our IRC chatroom on irc.freenode.net, channel #makelv. (You’ll need an IRC client to get started.)
- Sign up for our group discussion email list here to get regular emails and updates from the group.
- Follow us on Twitter: @makelv
- Like / friend us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/makelv
- Join Our Google+ Community : https://plus.google.com/communities/104377717467115446208
- And of course - Visit the Space!
Open Hack Nights are Thursdays from 6:30pm ~ 9:30pm at The Bridgeworks Enterprise Center, Suite 101, 905 Harrison Street, Allentown. (The first loading bay along the street from the end with the water tower in the parking lot, park on the street, and look for the wooden stairs or use the doorbell next to the loading door). We’re open for members and non-members to come in and meet with the community. Feel free to bring projects that you are working on to show them off, or just come by and take a look at what we’re up to. This is a casual event, but a great way to get to know our group and get involved.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
Should a Maker go to a Hackathon?
We invited Tim Lytle of LV Hack (among other things) to share his argument for why a hardware hacker should join an event that is traditionally for software hackers. They're really interested in having more hardware guys around to bring new ideas and make new things possible. There is some fun to be had! -- Josiah
What's a Hackathon?
First things first: A hackathon is an event - generally a few days on a weekend - that brings people together to build interesting things, all the while learning about new technology and sharing experiences. People may 'hack' on something: take a technology, exsisting product, or open source software, and repurpose it into something else, add features, or explore new uses. Other's may 'hack' something together: take various building blocks, APIs, hardware platforms, and create something completely new and unique.
What's a Hacker, and a Hack?
It's probably safe to say that most makers wouldn't raise an eyebrow at those terms - but in case the definition is a bit fuzzy, a hacker is simply someone really good at solving problems and overcoming limits in ways that may not seem obvious to most. Paul Graham has said that a hacker is "someone who can make a computer do what he wants—whether the computer wants to or not." And a hack is the imaginative, clever, and perhaps crafty output of that hacker. "Whether the result is a quick-and-dirty patchwork job or a carefully crafted work of art, you have to admire the cleverness that went into it" is how the Jargon file distils the meaning.
If you think that sounds a little like the software version of a maker - well, you'd be right.
But hacking is not really limited to software, and making is not really limited to just the things we can physically touch - so I'd venture to say that a hacker and a maker are pretty much the same thing.
But Why a Hackathon?
That's a fair question. Whether you're tinkering on a robot (or laser), working on some software project, or building something with a microcontroller - there's weeknights after work, open hack nights at the makerspace, and every other weekend. What makes a weekend hackathon so different?
It's for all those ideas that you're not working on yet. The ones that would take more than just a few nights to test the potential, or that need another set of eyes, a second pair of hands, or a few more heads to really figure out. And even when it's not your idea, it's a great opportunity to see what's bouncing around in someone else's head, and end up making something that inspires your next idea.
The people you meet at a hackathon can become lifelong friends, partners on projects, and even at times the team that takes a hack of an idea, and turns it into something much bigger.
And while traditionally people think of hackathons as a place for software developers, that distinction is becoming less and less true. From software to embedded devices to mechanical engineering - we've seen a variety of hacks at our hackathons over the past few years. And we expect even more variety this time around, as our venue is the Wilbur Powerhouse with a assortment of printers and prototyping tools.
So yes, a maker should definitely go to a hackathon - and fortunately for you, there's one going on in just a few weeks. See you there?
Lehigh Valley Science Festival
Saturday, March 22, 2014 (Rain or Shine) 9:30 am - 5 pm at Coca-Cola park, Allentown, PA
It a free family event for with fun for all ages! There will be a Text and Drive Simulator by AT&T, Gummy Worms and Fingerprints by the Cedar Crest College Chemistry Department, Hands-on Lego Building and Robotics by Igutech, Robotics, 3D Printers, Music, and More by Da Vinci Science Center's SPOT Program, and SO many more activities!
Correction: Mini Maker Faire Lehigh Valley – Free for non-commercial exhibitors
Yesterday's blog entry stated that all exhibitors would have a fee. This is not correct. The fee only applies to commercial vendors. Non-commercial vendors will be able to exhibit for free. All you need to do is sign up and get on the list.
So, what else are you waiting for? Sign-up!
Mini Maker Faire Lehigh Valley Town Hall Report
We were at the Town Hall today about the Mini Maker Faire Lehigh Valley happening April 26th. It sounds like it will be amazing and is positioning quickly to be an incredible celebration of making and makers in the Lehigh Valley. There are opportunities for just about anyone in the Lehigh Valley to get involved. The enthusiasm for this event is amazing and it's going to be a lot of fun to be involved in any capacity.
Check out the variety of makers mentioned at the town hall!
- knitters
- gardeners
- quilters
- cooks
- paper-craft enthusiasts
- engineers
- woodworkers
- musicians
- 3D printers
- beer brewers
- much more
Everyone is welcome to come share what they enjoy making with the community. There are opportunities to have a table, give a performance or give talks.
Exhibiting
Top priority at this point is to figure out how much interest there is in exhibiting. If you have any interest in exhibiting, you'll want to sign up for the "Call to Makers". This will give the organizers an idea of what you'd like to share and how to keep you informed as things develop. We're expecting something between 50 to 300 makers and we'd be glad to have you be one of them. (If you're a Make Lehigh Valley fellow, note that when filling out the form so you can be around the rest of us.) We may end up with a whole section to ourselves. There will be an exhibitor fee Non-commercial vendors will be free! Exhibitors who are selling items will have a modest fee, but what that will be has not been determined yet. Don't let that stop you from signing up to exhibit.
Find out more about exhibiting by signing-up.
Free Admission
Admission to the event will be free to the entire community. Feel free to start getting the word out there to friends, family and co-workers about the event. We heard of a paper rocket booth already being worked on to allow kids to build and launch some really amazing paper rockets. This has been a huge hit among kids (and adults) at other Maker Faires so it'll be great to bring this to the valley. Other child focused events will also be around. Make Lehigh Valley will likely be teaching soldering again. 3D printers are almost certainly going to be spread around to enjoy.
Sponsors & Partners
There has already been a significant interest in sponsoring this event. It will be held at ArtsQuest. That will be a beneficial partnership. Lehigh University's Baker Institute for Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation is also closely connected to helping make this happen. PBS39 is also very interested in both fiscal and other assistance. Lehigh Valley Tech and Make Lehigh Valley are, of course, closely connected with helping organize this whole event. We hear others are lining up to be a part also.
Find out more about sponsorship.
Volunteers
There are opportunities for people interested in volunteering for this event also. If you are passionate about supporting making in the valley, then perhaps this is the spot for you. You can start right away be telling everyone, inviting people you know who have cool things to show. Tell friends, family and co-workers.
Find out more about volunteering.
EDIT on 2 Feb. 2014:
- Good news, fees for exhibitors are only for commercial makers. Non-commercial is free.
- Corrected the name of Lehigh University's Baker Institute for Entrepreneurship, Creativity and Innovation.
Community Scrap Day Sat 10/26!
On Saturday October 26th beginning at 10AM Make Lehigh Valley will be hosting a special event during which we finally eliminate the scrap, abandoned projects and computer piles. Members and the public alike are invited to come participate in helping us disassemble, salvage and scrap all the stuff in the piles. While we’re at it, the Make Lehigh Valley members can provide a wealth of knowledge about whats inside and how things work. MakeLV keeps and sorts certain useful parts we find, and has scrap outlets for all metals, batteries, and PCBs. We’ll need some help keeping all that sorted as well, along with taking out the trash! This is a great chance to check out Make Lehigh Valley and see what we’re all about too.
Please note that this does NOT mean you should bring things you want to scrap as we’re trying to clear out our space.
Pizza and drinks provided courtesy of MakeLV! Although we do have tools and safety gear, it may be advisable to bring along your toolbox – useful items might be gloves, safety glasses, a screw gun, both regular & precision screwdrivers, pliers and cutters. Tools should be marked or otherwise easily identifiable.
We have cataloged what we can out of the abandoned projects pile and contacted the owners. Those without a known owner (but we know it was a project) are listed below. If you do not lay claim to these projects and either a) make your plan for timely completion known, b) store it in your locker if you have one, or c) pick it up and take it with you by Sat 10/26, your project will be up for grabs and scrapped for it’s useful components if not claimed. We are certainly not pressuring anyone with an active project, these have been dormant 6 months or more and are consuming a considerable amount of space.
Record Player w/Orange Tape
PA Amplifier
Allen Bradley PLC
Modular PC
Grain Mill/Arm
PlayStation Mod? (was in box wired to Basic Stamp)
DIY LCD Projector
White box CPU with “Project Do Not Scrap” on top
If you have any questions or ideas, feel free to contact me. Spread the word! Thanks in advance for your help everyone!
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