Formation 2008 Location United States | Purpose Hacking Origin Washington, DC | |
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Founders Nick Farr, Adam Koeppel, Andrew "Q" Righter, Alli Rense, Eric Michaud, and volunteers Affiliations Metalab, Chaos Computer Club, NYC Resistor, Noisebridge, DorkbotDC and similar | ||
HacDC is a hackerspace in Washington, D.C. and a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. According to one member's description, "HacDC members improve the world by creatively rethinking technology. We break, build, and occasionally abuse technology in the pursuit of greater knowledge about how it works and re-purpose it to build new things." In March 2009, its activities were described by the Washington Post. In April 2011, its activities were also mentioned by FastCompany., and NPR's All Tech Considered.
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Membership
HacDC encourages participation by anyone who feels they can contribute, and non-members are welcome at the space at any time. All workshops and activities are free, with some exceptions for materials costs, and all are open to the public. As of January 2015, membership stands at 50 people. Dues, which give organizational voting rights, are $60 per month as of January 2015.
HacDC's active pool of members bring a wide range of skills an interests to the community — ranging from science, visual and performing arts, electronics and mechanical design. This results in some very unusual and interesting collaborations among members, some of which have appeared at Washington, DC area art exhibits and performances.
Physical space
HacDC is located on the second floor of the office building for St. Stephen and the Incarnation Episcopal Church, 1525 Newton St. NW, at the intersection of 16th and Newton Streets, NW, in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, DC.
The space has 3 distinct meeting rooms. Workshop equipment includes soldering stations, electronic measurement and diagnostic tools, a laser engraver, 3D printers, a CNC mill, and a metal lathe. A multi-purpose meeting room featuring a 60-inch high definition display, seats about 20 people at tables, and about 35 without tables. A smaller workspace in the building's basement contains heavier tools such as an optical table and an in-progress CNC router/3D-printer, and storage shelves. The church's common spaces are available for larger events.
Activities
Some past and present programs and activities include:
A more updated list can be found on the official calendar.