MakeIt Labs in Nashua has created a playground for engineers and garage tinkerers to build not only their dream projects, but also a community of like-minded people to work with them. The open-access workshop-the first in the Granite State-moved to Nashua from Lowell in 2011 and has grown from 10 members to more than 60 members since opening its doors here.
Open-access workshops are do-it-yourself workshops (also called hacker spaces) where members pay a fee to access equipment (the largest and most popular in Nashua being a 3D printer, a plasma cutter and an automotive lift). Those machines are owned by individuals, but kept at the organization for all members to use. It's a trend that, like most things tech, has a strong presence in California, and is spreading nationwide.
Our two main goals are to enable people to learn, and have people in a community they can learn from, says Rob Riel, one of five individuals who volunteer to run the nonprofit organization. The other four members of the volunteer committee are Adam Shrey, Paul Hardin, Christian St. Cyr, and Rob Masek. The School Factory in Wisconsin, a nonprofit that supports and creates hacker spaces and co-working spaces, sponsors MakeIt Labs.
More than 90 percent of MakeIt Labs' assets, mostly materials and equipment, were donated from companies or members. MakeIt Labs offers different memberships to meet different budgets and interests. Membership options include day passes and hobbyist memberships for people who pack in and pack out their stuff and only come during walk-in hours; pro memberships granting 24/7 access and storage space; working memberships where people clean the labs for a discount, and school memberships.
Membership fees range from $20 for a day pass to $75 a month per person for a pro membership with anytime access (the most popular type). Membership fees are solely put toward keeping the doors open. Material for the welding tables were donated by Rapid Sheet Metal, and material for the welding classes was provided by DDG Fabrication, both in Nashua.
The material and equipment may be the reason members first come, but the community and atmosphere are why they stay. Probably our biggest asset isn't our tools, but all the people we have here. If there is something you want to know, somebody here will know how to do it, says Shrey.
Member William Foss considers MakeIt Labs his home away from home where he has been free to explore different interests. He had been trying to learn how to program for years, but it was only with the help of MakeIt Labs that he was successful.
I have learned more here in three months working with these people than I have in three years working with PhDs, says Foss. The founders say this sense of learning and gaining practical experience from a community of people is imperative in MakeIt Labs' mission. MakeIt labs also has group projects, the current one being an effort to convert a traditional gas-powered Kawasaki Ninja 250 into an electric motorcycle.
MakeIt Labs also hosts classes for members and nonmembers. Classes include working with the 3D printer, welding and fabrication, and working with glass.
Classes are a great way to expose people to the different areas we do here. We're really excited about getting kids in schools excited about real application, beyond just the math and science theories. Those are the people that are going to be building our industries, says Riel.
Aside from classes, MakeIt Labs has invited FIRST robotics teams to use their equipment as well as groups of high school students to learn about welding. Member or nonmember, anyone who has knowledge to share can teach classes and are encouraged to do so. MakeIt Labs hosts open house/walk-in hours from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays. For more information, visit makeitlabs.com.
By Alicia Frazier of the Young Reporter's Project, a partnership between Business NH Magazine and Southern NH University.
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