This is a permanent outreach program which extends the MakerLab

programming and capabilities to any location within Northumberland county when travel

to Venture 13 is not feasible/possible.

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Programming & Delivery

 

Programming would be an extension of the STEAM learning style which Northumberland Makers uses in our clubs and camps for youth. Programming for Seniors

would be similar but with an emphasis on themes (basic computer tasks, internet privacy,

etc.) and tasks (intro to 3D Printing, t-shirt making, etc.) which are adaptable for seniors

of all ages and skill levels. The Mobile MakerLab program would focus on tasks which

would be easy to complete within the visiting time period or ones which would be

designed to last multiple sessions as the Mobile MakerLab would come back for routine

stops. This would have a "Bookmobile" style delivery with stops at Community Centres,

Senior Centres, service clubs, schools and libraries all over Northumberland County. A

schedule could be published prior and Social Media would be utilized to provide advanced

warning of its stops.

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Staffing: Two employees would be ideal for safety and program delivery, although it could

operate with only one employee. The employee(s) would deliver the programming, signup

and location scouting, Social Media, and transportation.

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Equipment: The Mobile MakerLab contains a portable subset of the core functionality of

our Venture 13 MakerLab but would be housed in a trailer/mobile home/moving truck.

There would be portable versions of 3D printers, hot plates (for cooking), robotic kits, a

vinyl cutter, a t-shirt press, crafting supplies, electronics workstations, and laptops and

more. Some sort of connection to the Internet would be ideal to allow internet access to

utilize cloud-based programs and applications.

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Sponsorships: Northumberland Makers have been passively sourcing some service groups

and manufacturing corporations but have not applied for any grants as of yet.

Outcomes: Northumberland Makers believes that the Maker Movement should be

accessible to all residents of Northumberland County. With a Mobile MakerLab, we are

capable of fulfilling our mandate of bringing tools and technology to our residents. We

would be reaching all age and ethnicity groups with the ability to cater and develop

specialized programming when required.

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Our Work So Far…

As you can see, we have given this quite a lot of thought and feel as though the Mobile

MakerLab is the missing piece which will help to fulfil our mandate. There are several

pieces to this puzzle which we have identified and solved. However, some still require

work and backing.

Employee(s): We have an interested and motivated individual who is ready to take on this

program. Their salary is expected to partially come from fees we would collect the

locations this program would visit but there would need to be another injection as these

fees would only account for approximately 40% of their salary. Another 60% would be

required.

As a bonus, we also see this person as a Monday to Friday Coordinator of the Venture 13

MakerLab when not on the road. We have many requests which we have to turn down due

to not having this staffed during the day time hours.

Programming: This is ready to go. It will need to be tested and slightly modified to run on

the road, but this is easily done.

Transportation: We do not have a trailer/mobile home/moving truck in which to house

the Mobile MakerLab yet. However, we do have vehicles to pull the Mobile MakerLab. In

the future, we would like to have the money generated by this programming to go towards

a lease of a vehicle to transport the Mobile MakerLab around.