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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 have rented 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 on Wednesday evenings from 7pm until 10pm and are family friendly.

Contents

Stay informed

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!

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


Current Events (PastEvents)

  • 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


Spring and Summer Workshops!

All workshops are for age 12 and older unless otherwise specified. Some workshops have limited seats available, see descriptions for details.


  • Sustainabarrels!
    • Any of these dates: April 14, 21, and 28, 11am-3pm
    • Make your own rain and compost barrels from reclaimed bulk shipping containers!
    • Cost is $40 (includes 1 barrel), 8 students max, pre-reg required.


  • Learn to Solder
    • Two opportunities: April 20th or July 30th
    • Come learn to solder! No prior experience necessary. You will assemble a fun working electronic circuit.
    • Cost is $20 per person, class runs from 7-9pm.


  • Learn to Laser Cut
    • April 21 and 28th
    • 11am-3pm (formal "class" time), 3pm-5pm (project help provided)
    • Come learn to use our laser cutter to make cool stuff with wood and acrylic!
    • Cost is $40 per person, plus $25 for materials.
    • Bring your own laptop with Inkscape installed.
    • Pre-reg required.

Providing your own materials? Then $40. Need materials? Then $65. Bloominglabs member? Just the materials fee: $25.


  • Machining Fundamentals
    • April
    • Our appologies, this class is already full. If you are interested in future machining classes please email us at contact at bloominglabs dot org. Thanks!


  • Retr0bright Day
    • May 5th, 10-3pm
    • Do you have an old computer or electronic device from a by-gone era? Has the non-painted plastic case faded from its once beautiful white/grey color to a nasty shade of yellow? Come rejuvenate your device at Retr0bright day! What is Retr0bright you might ask? It’s a simple formula made from common household chemicals which when combined with exposure to UV light will remove the nasty faded stain from old plastics to make them look brand new again!
    • We’ll assist you with the Retr0bright process. You must be prepared to disassemble your own devices as the plastic covers must be removed. We can provide assistance with disassembly, and we will provide the Retr0bright. The process does require several hours of direct exposure to UV light, if direct sunlight does not favor us we will provide an artificial source while you wait with us. Afterwords the solution is washed off to reveal fresh looking plastic once again.
    • Cost is $10 per person, bring as many devices as you can work on.


  • Arduinos and Sensors! This pairs with the MicroPython class
    • June 16th, 1-4pm
    • This workshop focuses on sensors and making things using Arduino microcontrollers. Cost is $25, pre-reg required. For members, cost is $15.
    • You need to bring your own laptop, preferably with Arduino software installed: https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software
    • No programming experience needed (but it's always nice) - this is introductory level.


  • Welding Day
    • June 23rd
    • This is a beginners workshop, come learn MIG, TIG, Arc, and torch welding, and use a plasma cutter in this half-day workshop.
    • Price is $120 for the public, pre-reg required.
    • Seats for this workshop are locked until we get further along with logistics. We will make an announcement soon! In the mean time, you can let us know about your interest by sending mail to contact at bloominglabs dot org. Thanks!


  • MicroPython, IoT, & Microcontrollers
    • July 10th and 17th
    • Come learn how to run Python on a microcontroller! Cost TBD, pre-reg required.
    • Seats for this workshop are locked until we get further along with logistics. We will make an announcement soon!


Current Initiatives

  • Space Improvements
    • Tool and workspace arrangement


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 1840 S. Walnut Street, 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.


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.

Nearby Hackerspaces/Makerspace or initiatives:

Other Cool Groups in Bloomington

Special Wiki Pages

Uploaded files

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