What’s Up with CGW: April 2016 Edition

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It’s springtime (though you might hardly believe it some days), and Gadget Works has some exciting events coming up. Some ongoing projects will be getting their start, and we’ll be attending events in the community, making April a great time to meet some CGW folk and see what we’re about.

STEAM Carnival

Columbia Gadget Works is excited to part of the Columbia, MO STEAM Carnival at Battle High School on Saturday, April 9th, from 3 to 5 pm. Come meet us at our booth alongside other local groups to celebrate what we can do in the world of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics. We’ll have some demonstrations of cool technologies, a showcase of our cardboard battle bots, and even exhibition matches in the Chamber of Robotic Aggression.

Sparkfun Autonomous Vehicle Competition

CGW has taken part in competitions before, but this could be our most ambitious attempt. The Sparkfun AVC is a fun and open competition for makers and robot enthusiasts from all over the world. The 2016 event will be September 17th at the Sparkfun Headquarters in Niwot, CO and it includes some fun new classes for vehicles.

We hope for field more than one entry in our first year, so we will be starting this month to give ourselves plenty of design and build time. As with all our competitive teams, this will be open to CGW members and guests at multiple skill levels. This month, we will designate one of our Open Hack Nights to go over the rules and classes for anyone interested in participating. If that sounds like you, watch for more announcements or contact us to get more information.

Creative Spaces LLC Open House

Creative Spaces LLC, the maker-friendly building CGW currently resides in, will be holding an open house to showcase some of the creative businesses and organizations local to Columbia, MO. The event will be at the 1404 Grand Ave space and is tentatively scheduled for April 21st.

Game Nights

Starting April 8th at 7 pm, Friday nights will be game nights at Columbia Gadget Works. Relax with other members at the end of your week by playing some fun tabletop games. Lately, we’ve been interested in Firefly, Fluxx, and Exploding Kittens, but we’re always open to learning something new. Game Nights will be open to the public until the end of May.

The New Space is Almost Complete

We’ve made tons of progress over the past couple months.

 
And I’m happy to say that, thanks to the hard work and dedication of our members, we now have a viable new hackerspace to build and learn in.

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Of course, we’re not entirely done (will we ever be?). Our to-do list still includes building custom workbenches to put inside our lab, setting up the shop area for larger tools, and tying up various loose ends after the move. But our accomplishments thus far are worth celebrating, and we’d like break in the new CGW with a little get-together. So we’re inviting anyone who has ever been interested in CGW to a Hackerspace Warming Party on the evening of February 21st.

Come out to see everything that Gadget Works has to offer. There will be socializing, food, and random acts of hacking along with demonstrations of 3D printing and lifecasting.

The CGW Hackerspace Warming Party

Sunday, Feb 21st 3:00-7:00pm