Representing the maker movement in Truro

The Truro Public Library has plans to turn some of their extra space into a makerspace for library patrons. Saturday afternoon, library director Tricia Ford and youth services librarian Maggie Hanelt hosted a meeting to introduce interested members of the community to the maker movement and discover what people are looking to put into, and get out of, their makerspace. Cape Cod Makers was invited to help guide the discussion and give an overview of what’s happening with makerspaces worldwide and here on Cape Cod.

Banana piano, ShopBot plaque, and pile of tiny robots

We set up a few visual and hands-on examples of what local makers are doing, including SCIL‘s catapult kits, Sam’s motion-activated skull from his Halloween mechatronics class, and the now-classic MaKey MaKey banana piano.

Chris’s Printrbot attracts a crowd

We were fortunate enough to be joined by Chris the Carpenter, an innovator from Eastham who makes his living creating robot kits (and kitchen cabinets) and spends his free time doing just about everything else. His infectious enthusiasm and exciting toys caught the interest of the attendees and were great examples of what kind of creations can come out of a makerspace.

Mary speaking to a (nearly) packed house

A brief presentation introducing the maker movement and giving details about local developments was followed by a discussion of everything from the potential benefits a Truro makerspace could have for local residents, to the cooperative efforts that can be undertaken by individuals before a physical space materializes (such as swapping tools at a central location and combining hardware needs to save shipping costs), to the difference between an Arduino and a Raspberry Pi. Eventually, the lights came back up and discussion groups broke off, encompassing people’s current projects and some more show-and-tell — and a handful of Chris’s little robots zipping around underfoot.

Productive, long-term business partnerships begin with people standing in a circle

The library organizers walked away with a pile of contact information and a lot of ideas for what their space can, should, and will do. The community members walked away with a greater awareness of the potential benefits a local makerspace can have, and some with new friends and plans to start collaborating. And the Cape Cod Makers walked away thinking this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship…

Stay tuned for more updates about our friends in Truro as they progress. If you’re interested in joining their efforts, contact Maggie or Tricia to see how you can help!