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Welcome to Bloominglabs, Bloomington's very own hackerspace!
A space for sharing tools and knowledge to make stuff
Bloominglabs is Indiana's first hackerspace (also known as a makerspace). We are a group of group of people who rent a shared workshop where we can build projects both collectively and individually. Our space is located at 1840 S. Walnut Street.
We are open to the public Wednesday evenings from 7pm until 10pm. Our open hours are family friendly.
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
What is a hackerspace?
A hackerspace is 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.
Stay informed
- Sign up to the announcement mailing list to keep up with our group.
- We have a public discuss mailing list too.
- Our Calendar of events
- Follow us on Twitter @Bloominglabs, Facebook, and Instagram.
- Checkout photos from past events on Flickr
- Our IRC server is at bloominglabs.org:6667, #hackerspace.
- We can also be reached via old fashioned email at contact [at] bloominglabs [dot] org.
- Send us email to get an invite to our Slack site.
- Send mail to P.O. Box 2443, Bloomington, IN 47402
Support
Bloominglabs Incorporated is a non-profit registered within in the state of Indiana and has 501(c)3 charitable status. Want to make a donation with PayPal? Please use this link:
- (Note to members - this link should not be used for paying membership dues)
Also, we have an Amazon Smile Account For Bloominglabs. If you use that link to place an order on Amazon, we get a little cut. Thanks!
Members, this is how we process cash and hardware donations: Donations.
Hardware Donations
We appreciate hardware donations too! However, please ask before bringing any item donations and arrange to meet someone for the handoff. contact [at] bloominglabs [dot] org This gives us a chance to decide what of your donation is useful to us currently. For things we can't use, we'll help you figure out other groups in Bloomington who would appreciate them or help you determine the best way to dispose of them.
Current & Upcoming Events
Public meetings!
- Wednesdays from 7pm until 10pm
- E-mail contact [at] bloominglabs [dot] org or ask in Slack if you would like to arrange access to the space at another time.
- Come build projects, ask questions, teach things, and learn stuff
- All ages and everyone is welcome
Upcoming Workshops
Workshops are for age 12 and older unless otherwise specified. See our Workshops page for more information.
Current Initiatives
These are things we are working on, or would like to see, to improve the space. If you are interested in any of these, feel free to work on it! If you are unsure where to start, please get in touch!
- improve the tool and workspace arrangement and cleanliness
- purge excess junk
- vend snacks and drinks (we used to do this at the previous space, but haven't since moving) Achieved!
revive the asset management system, and add our new assets to it- make Bloominglabs's web presence friendlier
- The page you get when people from the public go to bloominglabs.org has an overwhelming amount of information on it.
- The New Members page and the Membership Manual should be merged together.
- In general, it would be great to see more participation in the wiki, especially on the [Projects] page.
- It might be good to have a page that lists all members with their name, picture, username, email, interests, areas of the space they are familiar with, etc.
- make the 3D Printers more reliable, make the 3D printing process easier, and spread the knowledge
wire the CCTV system- wire speakers in the lounge (and maybe in the classroom)
Public meetings and Membership
Please see the Membership Manual and New Members for more details.
During normal non-pandemic conditions we meet every Wednesday from 7pm to 10pm at 1840 S. Walnut Street. These meetings are open to the public; anyone is welcome to attend. 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. If it's cool and interesting you'll find somebody who's interested.
- Meeting_Minutes
- Bloominglabs Log - highlights of Bloominglabs events and news
Nearby Hackerspaces/Makerspace or initiatives:
- Cyberia (Indianapolis, Indiana!)
- Castlemakers (Greencastle, Indiana)
- The SHAK (Kokomo, Indiana)
- The MakerHive (Elkhart, Indiana)
- Hive13 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
- LVL1 (Louisville, Kentucky)
- Pumping Station: One (Chicago, Illinois)
- Dayton Diode (Dayton, Ohio)
- i3 Detroit (Detroit, Michigan)
- Kre8Now (Lexington, Kentucky) (related to the former Collexion space)
Other Cool Groups in Bloomington & Monroe County
- Bloomington Amateur Radio Club
- Indiana University Amateur Radio Club
- Southern Indiana Amateur Radio Association
- IU Makes
- Discardia
- Press (jigsaw) Puzzles