Main Page
Welcome to Bloominglabs, Bloomington's very own hackerspace!
We have MOVED! Our new address is 1609 S. Rogers Street Building 4!!
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.
Stay informed
- Sign up to the announcement mailing list to keep up with our group.
- New! We have a discuss mailing list now.
- Our Calendar of events
- Follow us on Twitter @Bloominglabs, Facebook, and Google+.
- Checkout photos from past events on Flickr
- Our IRC server is at irc.bloominglabs.org:6667, #hackerspace.
- We can also be reached via old fashioned email at contact (]at[) bloominglabs dot o r g.
- We have a new mailing address! P.O. Box 2443, Bloomington, IN 47402
Support
Bloominglabs is incorporated as a non-profit 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
Current Events (PastEvents)
- Workshop Bonanza!
- Send an email to contact ]at[ bloominglabs.org to sign up or get more information about the following workshops.
- Bloominglabs can supply a limited number of laptops and Arduinos for classes requiring them. Please request these at time of enrollment.
- All Workshops 12+ unless accompanied by adult.
- Instructional fees waived for Bloominglabs members.
- Help us advertise by posting a flyer.
- Payment required to reserve a spot.
- Class sizes are limited, so reserve your spot today!
- Laser Cutting Workshop - registration closed
- 4 days, 8 hours of class time total
- Tuesdays: February 24th and March 3rd, 10th, and 17th, 6:30pm to 8:30pm
- Learn how to use a laser cutter/engraver to make cool stuff with wood and acrylic.
- Bring your own laptop with Inkscape installed.
- Cost for non-members: $65 ($40 for the class, $25 for materials and laser time)
- Machining Workshop - registration closed
- 4 days, 12 hours of class time total
- Sundays: March 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th, 1:00pm to 4:00pm
- Learn the basics of machining metal with manual mills and lathes.
- Cost for non-members: $150 (includes materials)
- Sustainabarrels
- 1 day, 4 hours of class time total
- Saturday, March 21st, 1:00pm to 5:00pm
- This workshop is designed to help you construct your own rain or compost barrel from used barrel containers.
- During the summer months, lawns and gardens account for an average of 40% of household water useage. Water barrels can help to reduce water usage and bills by allowing you to tend to your lawn and garden using naturally harvested rain water.
- Compost barrels work to decompose reusable yard, fruit, and vegetable waste that would otherwise contribute to growing landfills and greenhouse gas emissions. Save money on trash pickup, garbage bags, fertilizer, and mulch while providing your garden with rich nutrients--including nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus--from your own yard and kitchen refuse.
- Cost for non-members: $40 (includes one barrel)
- Laser Cutting Workshop - registration closed
- Makevention
- Our next Makevention will be August 29th, 2015
- Keep an eye on the Makevention website 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
Current Initiatives
- Space Improvements
- Tool and workspace arrangement
Fund Drives
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 1609 S. Rogers Street Building 4, 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. If it's cool and interesting then we are all interested.
- Meeting_Minutes
- Bloominglabs Log - highlights of Bloominglabs events and news
Our Location
We have moved to a new space! Our new address is 1609 S. Rogers, Building 4, and it is an open, well-insulated warehouse which is over 3100 square feet in size. This space is about a mile south of downtown and is accessible from the B-Line Trail. You can see it on a map at: Our Awesome New Space
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
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
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
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 Hackerspaces/Makerspace or initiatives:
- Club Cyberia (INDIANAPOLIS!)
- Makerspace Goshen (Goshen Indiana)
- Greencastle's Makergroup
- Hive13 (Cincinnati, OH)
- LVL1 (Louisville Kentucky)
- Vault404 (Louisville Kentucky)
- Collexion (Lexington Kentucky)
- Pumping Station: One (Chicago)
- Dayton Diode
- Detroit Facility
- i3 Detroit
Other Cool Groups in Bloomington
- The Bloomington Print Collective -- a non-profit community print shop.
- Indiana Filmmakers Network -- provides support, camaraderie and resources to filmmakers.
- Bloomington Amateur Radio Club
- Indiana University Amateur Radio Club
- IU Makes
-
Bloomington personal Fabrication Group (IU 3D Printing Club)(no longer meeting) - also a trac hostedhere - The annual Hoosier to Hoosier event (resale trail)
- Discardia