At this point, most of people have probably heard of a makerspace, but have you ever seen a mobile makerspace? Chances are likely this is not something you have been exposed to unless you are located in the Southern Indiana area. The Maker Mobile is exactly that; a maker space on wheels. Take a 32′ car trailer and outfit it with some fantastic equipment, and you have quite the attention grabber, and mobile work space to inspire makers of all ages.
Mobile Purpose
The Maker Mobile was a joint effort between the Blue Sky Network and the Ogle Foundation to generate interest in STEM, the maker movement, and manufacturing in and around Southern Indiana / Louisville, Kentucky. Samtec also playes a large roll with sponsoring the Maker Mobile financially as well as promoting events for the Maker Mobile, has provided storage for the trailer, and volunteers to help run the equipment at events.
The Maker Mobile has been to many K-12 schools, colleges, fairs, and events since its inception. Most recently, the Maker Mobile was at the VEX Robotics World Championship in Louisville, Kentucky where the 1,400 competing teams had a chance to view the equipment and take home a 3d printed or lasered trinket.
Equipped Purpose
The Maker Mobile is outfitted with equipment that not only draws in crowds of people, no matter the location, but also helps to show that modern manufacturing processes can be clean and controlled by computers (CNC) today.
Since the Maker Mobile was built to be modular it has the ability to showcase equipment specific to its audience. The most frequently showcased equipment are two Epilog Helix 40W lasers, two Ultimaker 3d printers, a tabletop CNC router table by Shopbot, and a Vinyl Cutter.
With every event, the Maker Mobile has the opportunity to positively influence minds of all ages through inspiring them to create with the tools at their disposal. Keep on making, makers!
If you are a maker and use the Arduino Uno R3, ARM mbed, BeagleBone Black, or the Raspberry Pi then make sure to check out Samtec’s expansion connector accessory kits here.
Find out more about the Maker Mobile at their website.
