Now two years old, Tampa Hackerspace is one of the oldest Tampa Bay public workshops around and one of the biggest and most active. Several of the makers around their booth, are also members, and developed their creations and projects at Tampa Hackerspace. Jon Adair, Director of Operations at the facility, took some time to tell us more about Tampa Hackerspace and what they’re bringing to Gulf Coast MakerCon 2015.
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Tampa Hackerspace is a non-profit, membership-based workshop. We offer space, 
equipment, and other resources for members to learn and build all sorts of things. We hold an “Open Make Night” on most Tuesdays when anyone is welcome to come tour the space, try out a 3D printer, get project advice, meet people, etc. We also offer a wide variety of classes from CAD and 3D printing to programming to lockpicking and leathercrafting.
We got our start almost exactly two years ago at this event. We’d seen spaces grow in other cities and really wanted to bring that experience to Tampa Bay. We couldn’t be happier with the response and support we’ve gotten from the community. We’ve grown faster than we ever anticipated and it’s been quite a challenge to keep up.
For this year’s Gulf Coast Makercon, we are bringing our full-scale TARDIS we built for the Popular Mechanics / Radio Shack Hackerspace challenge. It’s been around Tampa Bay and beyond, spending time at MOSI and appearing in a wedding. We’ve been updating the interior and electronics but it’s also just a fun photo prop. We will also have several projects incorporating Arduinos, 3D printing, laser-cutting, and more. We will have a 3D 
printer running, making different samples.
People should come to events like Gulf Coast Makercon to meet other makers. The tools and actual projects are neat but there’s tremendous value in being able to connect and network with a community of local makers.
- Visit our Meetup page for classes and events: http://www.meetup.com/Tampa-Hackerspace/
- Facility, membership, etc. information is on our website: http://tampahackerspace.com/
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TampaHackerspace
Twitter: @hacktampa http://twitter.com/hacktampa
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Come meet the great folks at Tampa Hackerspace, see what they do and learn how you can do it, too, at Gulf Coast MakerCon Saturday, April 18th, at the Florida State Fairgrounds!
Just 3 more days to get discounted tickets to Gulf Coast MakerCon – $2 off gate admission thru April 17th!