Fab Lab DC

Location: Washington, DC

Website: fablabdc.org

Give ordinary people the right tools, and they will design and build the most extraordinary things.

That’s the idea behind Fab Labs, which originated at MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms by Professor Neil Gershenfeld, who teaches How To Make (Almost) Anything.

Fab Labs provide access to prototype tools for personal fabrication, like a personal computer that can output functional objects instead of images on a screen.

The labs have spread from inner-city Boston to Africa and Norway, with projects tackling applications in areas including healthcare, agriculture, housing, and communications.

FAB LAB DC serves and fosters the creative community by providing access to digital fabrication technology, rapid prototyping, and the global Fab Lab network.

In the spirit of MIT’s Fab Lab community outreach project, FAB LAB DC brings a high-tech,fabrication laboratory/community workshop to the heart of the Nation’s Capital advancing creativity, innovation, and collaborative projects.

Fab Labs enable people to use technology to create, experiment and produce, shifting the paradigm away from people merely “consuming” technology toward using technology to create solutions.

With a focus on life-long learning and emphasis on investigative teamwork, FAB LAB DC provides a range of educational opportunities for people of all ages, including access to the international Fab Lab network and Fab Academy, which extend opportunities for information sharing, research, and broader social impact. FAB LAB DC is for local community members, life-long learners, inventors, entrepreneurs, creatives, and professionals.

With its location within walking distance and in view of the U.S. Capitol Building, FAB LAB DC will also serve as a model for the nation’s leaders in policy, government, and industry, to experience, first hand, Fab Lab’s grass-roots approach in developing technical education and literacy, promoting innovation, launching inventions, and incubating new businesses.

NE Seattle Tool Library

Location: Seattle, WA

Website: www.neseattletoollibrary.org

The NE Seattle Tool Library provides free, community access to a wide variety of tools, training, and sustainable resources. Become a member now!

We will officially start lending tools at our Grand Opening on January 19, 2013. The building will open at 10 am for new member registrations and meet-and-great, followed by the official speeches and ribbon cutting at 11 am. We’ll stay open until 2 pm for tool lending, plus “Taste of the Tool Library” demonstrations.

The NE Seattle Tool Library is a community-led project to provide pay-what-you-can community access to a wide range of tools, training, and relevant advice.

By providing this service, the Tool Library aims to inspire its community to participate in community projects, such as park restorations, and pursue sustainability through fun projects like backyard gardens, home energy improvements, and water harvesting.

Benefits:

- Leverage existing resources

- Reduce our environmental footprint

- Reduce consumption of tools used only once or twice

- Educate community members in proper use and maintenance of tools

- Enhance self-reliance and resilience

- Foster sense of community and mutual support

- Encourage repairing items instead of throwing them in the trash

- Encourage making products for ourselves instead of buying them from far away

- Lay a foundation for a Sharing Economy