The Hacker's ARK
The Hacker's ARK is a project aimed at promoting ‘tinkering and making’ to nurture creativity and connectedness amongst users of the ARC and visitors. The idea is to create a multi-purpose portable makers resource which can be deployed in different spaces throughout the ARC building. It is hoped the initiative will establish an active maker community able to sustain and further develop the concept.
Why a maker space?
Dr Hessam Mehr, an interdisciplinary Research Fellow in the School of Chemistry, was encouraged by the expanding options for approachable making and prototyping tools, from plug-and-play desktop 3D printers to affordable hobbyist-friendly microcontroller boards with arrays of sensors. Given space in the ARC can be a premium, would there be value in a tucked-away facility that can spring to life when needed? The Hacker's ARK was conceived of as an on-demand sanctuary for creative tinkering communities, housed within the ARC. With life increasingly revolving around our phone screens, passively consuming content curated by large overseas corporations, the ARK will provide both an outlet for creative energy and a sense of ownership, agency, and connectedness. Beyond individual self-actualisation, its physical medium invites interaction, counteracting the isolation of our solitary digital lives.
Getting involved
The space and hardware resources made available through the Hacker's ARK provide a seed and nurturing environment around which a community can group. Primarily, we would like to open up tinkering and making to a widers audience and to use it as a catalyst to bring this diverse cohort together into a self-sustaining group. As a first step towards building this community, we would love to hear from those interested in getting involved, regardless of their level of expertise.
Inaugural hack events
What will the Hacker's ARK look like and who will be aboard? How will it operate and who will have access? We are keen to answer these bigger question by engaging colleagues across campus and especially within the ARC's mix of disciplines.