Do you like to Tinker? Does your concept of “Hacking” reach beyond just software? You might be part of a burgeoning movement of Makers. Part gear-head, inventor, techie, and artist with a dash of mad scientist. Makers tend to like to get their hands dirty and fabricate projects rather than shelling out the big bucks for the store bought equivalent. We resent being engineered out of the design process. We thrive on figuring out how things work and piecing together disparate technologies into something new . . . making it our own.

If this sounds like you, we would love to hear from you. We strive to be an open door community bent on conspiring with creative, hands-on people. We are actively growing and looking for bright ideas as we mature as an organization. Get in early and help as we build the groundwork for what should be a Huntsville institution for years to come. We guarantee you could make a difference and maybe find a family and a home.

On the origin of Makers Local 256

Makers Local 256 has its genesis as an outcropping and byproduct of the local chapter of 2600. 2600 started as an underground magazine for hackers when hacking still involved building tone generators out of Radio Shack parts providing free long distance from a payphone. Since then payphones have all but disappeared and technology has been advancing at a Moore-ish rate, but the spirit of 2600 has kept pace . . . maybe even evolved.

The magazine led to meetings, meetings led to local groups, local groups led to new friends, new friends led to expanded collaboration, expanded collaboration led to Makers Local 256. It became a way to interact at a deeper level between the monthly meetings.

This shift was not happening in isolation, across the country sharp people were returning to a DIY attitude in a disposable world. Co-ops started popping up in larger cities providing common work areas where the boundaries between technology, fabrication, art, craft, form and function were dissolved. Meanwhile, Make: magazine was launched by O’Reilly Media a publisher of technology books and magazines. Make: magazine served as a unifying force under the common “Maker” banner.

In early 2008 the decision was made to make the leap, form the group, rent a house, go legit, register as a 501c3 non-profit . . . just to see what we could Make. Since then we have been growing steadily, building membership, focusing our efforts and building our home.

The Future

We don’t know the future, but we know our dreams and we know our hearts. We have wide eyes and open minds. We see Huntsville as an environment disproportionally advantaged for some serious synergy. There are few places outside of this area which have a more fertile concentration of the “right stuff” required to make this epic. When our environment is combined with a larger perceived shift in our societal relationship with technology, thrift, DIY, repurposing, green tech and community involvement . . . well, that is the making of a movement. In the broadest strokes we see a community hangout and fab shop where projects are likely to be developing at any hour of the day. Classes taught to the public encouraging people to break the seal and void the warranty, learn to solder or learn to code. Banks of computers doing our bidding and cool tools and toys in every direction. Welding, woodshop, servers, switches, coils, machining, molding, pulleys, pendulums, silkscreen . . . steam-punk fire-breathing robots. Ultimately, we are just searching for a way to “make” life . . . ours.