Halifax’s first Makerspace is in the making. Following the brilliant model that cities across the country and world have, a small group of keen Haligonians is beginning to build a community lab, workshop and collaboration station. “None of us could afford a shop, but 30 of us could afford a kick-ass shop,” says Rob Hutten, one of the board members who've been brainstorming ways to get the idea off the ground.
Currently, the Halifax Makerspace is two rooms in the Roy Building (1657 Barrington Street), a few hundred square feet mostly full great ideas, but some nerdy gear, too. It’ll start on the techie side of things as more of a hackerspace, but Hutten says the hope is with time, and support, it’ll grow to include a wood shop, metal shop and plastics shop, too. Basically, it’ll be an accessible workspace open to anyone making something, anything. (Hear what I'm saying, those of you lacking studio space?)
“I have this dream of this retired welder working with some 15-year-old Raspberry Pi programmer. I'm trying to get people from different communities to work together,” he says. “We want to get people in there who end up collaborating before they even realize that's what they were after.” With plans for free workshops and collaborations already in motion, the future for our Makerspace is bright. To help build on this idea check out halifaxmakerspace.org.
