Committee Voice - Expansion move

Hackerspace
#1

We’ve been working with the expansion team and select individuals to get things moved over quickly. However there’s been some talk about a change in location and even in available size.

The new spot proposed to the committee is where we currently have the t-shirts and display in the main lobby of 104. This is about the same space as what we currently have if not a little bigger by a few feet.

Pros:

  • Entrance area with good foot traffic
  • Works for just the museum

Cons:

  • No space for projects, labs, or committee storage
  • No improvements
  • No ability to schedule classes

The other option is to keep pushing back and ensuring we have the space we need to function as a committee overall and not just some “collection of vintage computers”.

But this is one of those things we need to come together as a committee on so what do you think @Team_VCC; Do we accept the offer of the new location or push back to keep the larger space promised to the committee?

Update

Ok, a lot of discussion below and please do keep it going and productive. We need to hear the committee’s voice on this still. But let’s put it to a tally vote that we can present at the next committee meeting:

  • Move to lobby area in 104
  • Move to corner of common area in 102

0 voters

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Action Figure Museum
#2

My vote (and I’ll admit I’m not the most regular in-person member of VCC), is take the front lobby space.

Quite a bit of VCC happens online anyway, so it doesn’t make sense to really have a lot of dedicated (physical) space for a digital group.

You can schedule classes like any other group in class rooms right? If all you’d use the space for is private classroom space then definitely give it up to another group.

If you are wanting to have a “working session” or something on vintage hardware I’d think you’d want to have it in the e-lab where all of the equipment you’d want to use is located anyway.

#3

Isn’t the orange “classroom” supposed to be a computer lab? Which is what… six feet away from the current lobby?

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#4

Dwight do you have minutes and a current list of your committee? Thank you!

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#5

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#6

Quite a bit of VCC happens online anyway, so it doesn’t make sense to really have a lot of dedicated (physical) space for a digital group.

I’d actually like to debunk that we’re even remotely only a “digital group”. While I do agree that most of our interactions is over talk and discord. As a committee we hold office hours one a week, there’s several ongoing sigs under our wing and while this expansion has put a few projects on hold until we’ve moved overall we’re a group that meets at the space, uses committee equipment and do have ongoing classes and events at the space.

#7

@halachal then what would you suggest the committee focus on?

#8

Besides the museum, what equipment does VCC own?

#9

@halachal then what would you suggest the committee focus on?

anything of interest, but how many committees dedicate a large chunk of floor space to simply displaying items related to their activity?

I would understand displaying impressive projects, like a member’s recreation of a vintage system on FPGA, or a wirewrapped TTL CPU, but just a collection of old stuff you didn’t have anything to do with creating?

#10

A lot.

The community grid nodes, Racky McRack (42U server rack), equipment for lab works (cisco, fpga, arduino, raspberry pi, security+, linux+, locksport), some rtl sdrs, wifi pineapples, cellphone pico stations. Some IoT development equipment and even some AR stuff that’s been mothballed before Digital Media got theirs. Plus a large backlog of industry related books most of which are in the works of being digitized.

#11

Where are these items?

#12

I would understand displaying impressive projects, like a member’s recreation of a vintage system on FPGA, or a wirewrapped TTL CPU, but just a collection of old stuff you didn’t have anything to do with creating?

I agree, but did you know that one actually can actually jump on our bbs and access a lot of the old systems though that? Or even just walk up to the museum and use it since it is a live interactive exhibit that one can share their works with it? Heck, Bill’s been working on his c64 python implementation on the machines we’ve had on display.

#13

Where are these items?

Boxed up, waiting for the expansion to be complete for donation to dms.

#14

Sounds like VCC needs more room. I would take the lobby area as it has more room.

#15

That list of stuff would fit on a bookshelf, a desk, and a 42u rack (which is ~10sqft for those not familiar). So maybe 150 sqft for the whole lot? That seems more like a “we’ll find a place for it” and less like a you get a whole classroom sized area to call your own.

How much space do you think VCC would need besides the museum area?

Also, since you mentioned it, quite a bit of that stuff “belongs” in the dedicated groups for them. The SDRs “belong” with our HAM SIG in electronics, the AR stuff “belongs” with Digital Media, the IoT dev stuff is more electronics than Vintage Computers, locksport has nothing to do with VCC etc

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#16

How much space do you think VCC would need besides the museum area?

Considering the bulk of that is not a “we’ll find a place for it” but items focused on either support for our STEM program, SIGs, or equipment for classes, labs, and development work that we’ve had to rotate circulation. About the size of what is now the conference room or about half that of the tiny purple classroom.

That was what got proposed last year to the expansion workgroup and what we are supposed to get is about double our current space. The lobby space being proposed is equal to our actual floor space, not used floorspace, plus a foot or two.

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#17

@Team_Vector did use a chunk of lobby space to have a pinball in there for folks to play. We’d like to have another one back there if @Team_PR wants it.

#18

That’s usually what museums are- a showing of things that the curator did not make on their own.

#19

Usually makerspaces are not museums, they are workshops

#20

Makerspaces have lots of things including art and inventions and other things.