If you haven't heard about it already, the ideaLAB is DPL's makerspace, located in the Central Library in the Community Technology Center. What's a makerspace? Well, it's a place for making stuff - music, art, robots, games, websites, purses, paintings - and giving you access to the tools you need to do so (we have 3D printers, the Adobe Creative Suite, a music studio, a Dremel - see our complete list of tools here). We opened two years ago as a space just for teens, but we've been slowly adding more hours for other ages. We're happy to announce that we now have more adult and family hours!
Family workshops: Starting in February, every 2nd Saturday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and every 4th Saturday, 1 to 4 p.m., will be a family workshop. These are all-ages events featuring hands-on projects to learn some new skills - we've already made GIFs, built LED lightsabers, and sewed our own monsters - come drop by to see what's happening next! (Actually, our next family workshop is February 14, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., and we're going to have boardgame hack! WATCH OUT, CANDYLAND!)
Family Open Lab: besides the family workshops, any time on Saturdays from 11 AM to 4 PM that isn't filled with a program (like workshops or the CoderDojos) is Family Open Lab. This is all-ages drop-in time: you bring your ideas, projects, questions, and we help you find the tools you need to get rolling. Just like the family workshops, open lab time is all ages, but because we do have things lying around like 3D printers that heat up to 200 degrees celsius and hacksaws and spinning drill bits, we do ask that anyone younger than 10 be accompanied by an older person.
New Adult Swim hours: Adult Swim is our open lab time for people 18 and up. Want to use Photoshop or record something in the music studio? Want to play with an Arduino or learn a little bit about 3D printing? Just want to hang out and work with people instead of working by yourself at home? Drop on by! We're expanding our Adult Swim hours, so if you're 18 or older, you can drop in Monday or Tuesday from 6-8 p.m. and Thursdays from 1-3 p.m.
As always, we'll be doing lots of teen programming and open lab time in the ideaLAB as well. Keep an eye on the event calendar for new workshops. Any questions? Ask away in the comments...
