Here at the Lab, there are all sorts of things happening. From crafting with glitter *shudder* to the highest tech available. When it comes to the highest of tech, I know tech. There are lots of people. People I know. Smart people. People who say no one is techier than me. Except for anyone who works more with tech. Or has a masters in a tech field. Or created a certain kind of tech. Or those who can argue with me about what constitutes high tech.
Ok. There are tons of people more adept at high tech. Probably you. Definitely someone you know.
Even so, we have a lot of tech which people assure me is higher than average at the Fab Lab. Sometimes I go to a place I know and ask a seagull what to call them. We have gadgets and gizmos, aplenty! If I don’t know how to use it, and the seagull is busy, I am lucky enough to have plenty of home-grown experts at the Fab Lab! There is Paul, who teaches our soldering and some of our electronics and robotics classes, there is Dave, who runs our website, and tinkers with things like the CNC machine, laser cutting, and creating furniture for his recording studio. Tracy, who creates new software and hacks things to work differently than they were made to.
There is the robotics club, electronics meet-up, and the autonomous car club who meet monthly (or weekly!). I dabble with Arduino, raspberry pi, and have been known to kludge together a working something-or-other. And then there are our other members, who have created everything from a painting with embedded led lights, to a made-from-scratch CNC, 3D printer, and laser cutter!
Dabbling and experimentation is encouraged at the Fab Lab, in a way that no one else comes close to. If you have always wanted to learn something, but are unsure of how to start, come to us! Even if we don’t know how to do it, we can find someone who does. That is what makes the Fab Lab so unique. We bring together people who are excited about learning new things and do their best to help one another. As our society becomes more high-tech and our digital footprint gets higher, our chances to meet with people who understand us, who accept us, and who cheer us on in our normal-life adventures gets lower.
The reason the human race has survived and thrived is not because we are faster, stronger, or more ferocious. In fact, we are quite slow and generally tasty. It is because we group together. We are herd animals, and many of our best features come out when we are in groups. Where would we be if Og had not tried to impress that girl in the leopard skin with the ‘wheel’ thing? What would we do if Grooda hadn’t put up that fence to keep her bison from wandering away and creating the first farm? People trying new things, and watching each others’ backs, are what brought us down from the trees and plains, and carried us up to the stars.
The Fab Lab, even more than a place for tools and tech, is a place for you to find your tribe. No matter what you are into. If you want to play with the highest of high tech or are coming in to create a footstool with hammer and nails, we are excited to help you learn, teach, and get better. Come and join your tribe. Come and find your people. But mostly come and tell me what this dinglehopper is really called.
See you at the Fab Lab.
Kirk Cheyney, Fab Lab Director