Description

Connected Community HackerSpace is community workshop hidden in a 'batcave' at 5 Kent Lane, Hawthorn.

Walk down a cobbled laneway to the back of a commercial premise on Burwood Road—close to where the first meeting of the Girl Guides was held in Victoria in 1911. Enter the space to see a room filled with the tools and machines for making, as well as engaging results.

We are a strong and diverse community where makers, hackers and technologists connect over interesting problems, explore novel ideas and solutions. We excel at using and repurposing technology creatively, such as turning a 3D printer into a 'Saucebot' for saucing Bunnings snags, a commercial vending machine into a plant incubator, or creating an edge-lit animated desktop sign inspired by 'Little Audrey,' the Neon Skipping Girl in Richmond.

What's On

We will run brief tours of our HackerSpace to narrate the story of our community and showcase our members' creativity. The audience can expect to see things made and to see the machines that made them in action. They will experience sounds of machinery and press the start button under the supervision of guides. They might learn about milling, laser-cutting and other design and manufacturing processes. Other activities include electronic kits to play or purchase, such as a Stylophone (tiny music synth), Solder Rockets (simple soldering project), LED lettering or the handheld game 'Simon'.

Children's Activities

Press the big red and yellow buttons and see Saucebot sauce a sausage! Have your palm scanned for 'zombie virus,' play astylophone—or even a monster stylophone—or write your name in animated LED letters. You can even ask our AI chatbot any question about our tools, and hear a response.