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how do you even know where to begin learning about any subject?

• By having enough to eat/a place to stay such that your immediate survival isn't in question. Learning is hard if you're starving.
• By putting down the distraction rectangle(TFA above is a good example)
• opening the door to your office/desk/work environment, and being open to how other people might be interested in what you can do for them in that area
• By desiring to know about the subject, and making a map of the terms involved that you don't know or suspect are being used as terms of art.
• By finding other people interested in learning about it(Hackerspaces are a great place to do this), and engaging with them with the explicit reason of learning about the topic. Finding or building media that allow you to coordinate this task. Bonus points if you can find people to *teach*.
• By being humble about what you know and don't, and expecting your initial expectations to be incorrect(especially for softer fields like Economics/Political Economy). And especially: publish your results in a way that other people can replicate.
• By collecting relevant data, seeking out sources on relevant data, and if they aren't easily accessible trying to reproduce them yourself while being careful to keep track of what you are doing to obtain said data, what that data is, forming hypotheses and testing them.
• Try to think of a project you can do that relates to your topic of interest, and try to do it.

It doesn't matter if your adviser is Deepak Chopra, if you follow where the data tells you to go and are careful enough. I've helped people from the age of 4 to 80+ learn topics from algebra to video game development and there is no reason why lectures are particularly better suited for learning, or should be exclusively sought after, though they can be the cheaper option (especially in well-beaten paths like intro-to-programming or intro-to-stats).

"what I'm not finding are what to know before you start, or what it takes to make the effort worthwhile"

No one can give you the answer to this until you can communicate what you want the space to accomplish. Think ahead one year, five years. What does your space look like? Who does it serve? What key points can you identify that tell you it's successful?

Write that down. Make it realistic, and make sure it excites you AND others. Start working back with what it takes to get there. Share this. Work on it with people that would be using the space.

Starting a shop is one step, keeping it up and running is another story. Hopefully this is still relevant:
1. How will it be maintained? This is different than a personal workshop, or one shared with just a few people or a company doing production. Tools in makerspaces often get repeatedly used by people who know little about them, this is a GREAT thing, but it can be brutal on the machines.

2. Is the goal to train people to use the tools? If so, how will you accomplish this effectively?

Misc. comments:
Artisan's Asylum and Maker-Works have both offered makerspace boot camps. These are more geared towards how to keep a space running/maintaining it rather than how to start. But they're both great learning opportunities (though not cheap, and full disclosure: I work for Maker-Works)

Eastern Michigan recently opened: https://www.egr.msu.edu/ecesho...

This group is doing some research into makerspaces & education: http://catlab.gatech.edu/

Awesome, it looks like this still gets updated: https://wiki.hackerspaces.org/...

Bilal Ghalib. If you have a budget to pay someone to get you started, hire this man. http://bilalghalib.com/

Most importantly, involve the community as much as possible.

I would be happy to chat more, feel free to shoot me an email: joshdont gmail

Now that's a place I wouldn't leave! Really wish that existed... but something free and easier already does. I should have just posted this first but it slipped my mind. http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/L...

.. It can be challenging but can be done....

Here in Sweden you have lots of places where you can go and work outside.. At least in the summer when the polar-bears are not roaming the streets :)
There are quite a few places where you can sit and work inside too, as long as you order stuff for the duration... Have done that myself quite a few times, but only for about 3-4 hours at the max.. never had the need for anything longer...
Libraries can also be kind of nice if you want a bit quieter environment..

In London, at least the places i usually visit i don't see that a whole lot, but there must be some... The hotel-bars is often a good place unless it's crowded and i usually see some people working from those from time to time...

Amsterdam have tons of cafe's, and yes coffee-shop's too :), and it's a wonderful city... But same thing here... just as long as you keep your orders going... Most i have spent in one place there where about 3 hours without any complaints...

It probably differs from place to place, but as long as you are not disturbing anyone and keep ordering stuff you should not have any problem anywhere in Europe.....

But from experience you can never go wrong with the hotel-bar/cafe/lounge .. Usually you don't have to order that much and it's usually not packed during the day so they will not complain even if you don't order anything as long as you are staying in the hotel...

I usually don't stay in hostel's, but from the few i have been staying in one maybe 30% of them have had some semi-quiet place where you could sit and work... Check online before booking...

Hackerspaces do exist here, but not too many depending on where you are going... Check http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/List_of_Hacker_Spaces

Look at the list of hackerspaces, visit as many as you can find in the local area, and talk to as many people as you can. Most spaces don't have a spokesperson or overarching organization except what's necessary to keep the lights on, so making contact with individuals is important.

Find out if there's a hackerspace near you. The one I go to (not nearly often enough) has worked with schools before -- you might be able to get some community involvement going on. Ask if they'd be interested in hosting a class field trip, or developing extracurricular activities or class projects. Think Stirling engines, robots, 3D printers, arduino gadgets, laser cutters, all kinds of cool hands-on stuff. Obviously YMMV pretty significantly from one space to the next, and they're not all charities, but it could be really cool if there's a good one near you.

You can look for a hackerspace near you at hackerspaces.org or just use your favorite search engine with your region and "hackerspace". If not, maybe look for other local clubs that are into hands-on activities; rocketry, halloween, stagecraft, burners, whatever.

What is this "hackerspace"?

"Hackerspaces are community-operated physical places, where people can meet and work on their projects. " http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/Hackerspaces

I think a bit different in that they let random people show up and use the gear for the most part. Also commonly referred to as a "maker space".

If you're lucky and have one nearby, go ask your local hackerspace for ideas or better yet, just take him there.

Thanks a ton for posting up the sources! All Hands Active would not exist if not for a huge amount of help from local and online places.

For those interested, there are a number of Hacker/Makerspaces/Fab Labs that help connect people to resources:
http://www.hackerspaces.org/
http://www.schoolfactory.org/

If you're in the Michigan area, make sure to check out
http://www.i3detroit.com/
http://www.maker-works.com/
http://www.mtelliottmakerspace.com/
http://omnicorpdetroit.com/
http://www.portlandmachinistguild.org/
Places and people providing similar space/activities/awesome.

I'm very proud of my local hackerspace, 757 Labs. They always have classes and projects going on, and they've done some pretty cool things.

757 Labs on Hackerspace

Metrix Createspace is just one example of a hackerspace. There are lots more all across the world. To see if there is one in your area, check the hackerspaces.org list. I've been a member at both noisebridge (in San Francisco) and hacklab.to (in Toronto), and it's been a wonderful experience.

OR if you can't get a job and want to go to the US, contact the people at NYC Resistor, the New York Hackerspace. Just tell them you are interested in those things, you'd like to come and hang around for two weeks around people with similar interests who actually do something with them, and you need a couch to crash on. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a cheaper, more interesting and more educational alternative to a summer camp.

http://opensourceecology.org/

They are working on an open source set of machines to bootstrap modern civilization for anyone who wants it. The founder lives in a cordwood hut, so I don't think there is much in the way of overhead. I've contributed to the wiki, and am starting a local Do-it-yourself association/hackerspace ( http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/Community_DIY_Gadsden ) to bootstrap the tool set in my area (between Atlanta & Birmingham). I like that people can participate, not just write a check and forget about it till next year, and empowering post-scarcity economics in the physical world is a worthy goal.

Just scrolled through the list at http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/List_of_ALL_hackerspaces . Took a peak at a couple of the active ones in Norway, and they are operated by university level student societies. See a potential for hackerspace ranges: open-closed/simple-advanced/chaotic-orderly. Would be a nice fit as a "club" type thing in college aswell.

This hackerspace: http://sonen.ifi.uio.no/ in Oslo apparently does "education fair" type work at http://www.gathering.org/ everey year.

We are building a new library with a "Newton room" in my home town, just across the road from the local college. The potential here is huge. Just have to find the time to goad some people into supporting this before my boy turns 15 ;->

hackerspaces.org.

You know that "hackerspace" is an already existing term, right? /. mods didn't choose to mash together "china" with "hacker" in this article based on some agenda. It's an existing thing that already has a name, and some are in China.

http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/Hackerspaces

Put him in a hackerspace :-)

Hear is a global map of all known operational hacker spaces. I used to belong to one in Manhattan when I lived in NY City and now that I live in Mexico, I'm looking for one to join here.

I love the idea of a hackerspaces, and I'd love to visit one on a regular basis, but the closest one is about a 90 minute drive (according to this link).

So I've been considering starting one (there would probably be plenty of interest in the region I live in - Albany, NY-ish), only I have no idea where to start - I've never been to one, and I'm not sure how much money I might lose in the process.

Do any /.ers know anything about starting a hackerspace? What kind of equipment should I get first? How much space would I need? What would I probably do wrong?

I realize I'm being lazy by asking here, but I only got the idea recently (I only heard about hackerspaces earlier this year) and haven't really had much time to research the concept.

Hackerspaces are popping up all over the place. I founded one here in Cleveland (We're not detroit!), and hey, even detroit has one. You can find one close to you at http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/List_of_Hacker_Spaces

That sounds like a Hackerspace. The one I go to does not have coffee, but it does have a soldering iron and a pinball machine they fixed. And we are in the process of trying to get a 3D printer.

If you're seriously interested in that kind of stuff, I suggest you check them out.

There just might be one near you!

Yeah, plus there is a really good chance there's one near you so you no longer have any excuses (they are currently popping up like mushrooms):

Hacker Space Finder

No need for an alternate universe, tool libraries, while not common, do exist. In part associated with the maker "movement" which has increased the number of formal open-membership hacker spaces around the world.

I suspect any medium to large city could make a tool library work, and a number of public libraries are acting as catalysts for the tool libraries, in the cases where they are not yet large enough to be free-standing organizations.

Why limit yourself to NYC ?
World list of hackerspaces

You know what is a hackerspace ? Go there and do that, make awesome think, attract awesome people. If you live in US, there is probably one near the place you live : http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/List_of_Hacker_Spaces

http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/List_of_Hacker_Spaces. Be warned that TechShop is a commercial entity in this market, while many hackerspaces are non-profit. TechShop is a franchise with a gym membership model, so with it comes the same pains.

Look for a local Hacker Space or Makers club. http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/Hacker_Spaces Someone there will take it off you and build something interesting from it. Unless they need a printer. Then they might use one of those refill kits. I haven't had much success refilling cartridges myself though.

Just imagine if you could walk into a Radio Shack and have a selection of stuff like what you can get from Digikey and Newegg combined. That would totally kick ass.

Just add a Hackerspace in the back and it would be perfect.

P.S. To any prospective business out there, I, and I'm sure the Anonymous Cowardon above, would be perfectly fine with you stealing this idea and implementing it. It's encouraged.

A lot of the stuff that's getting thrown away still works! Even if it doesn't someone might want the parts. Before sending it to some recycling company which will probably send most of it to third world kids to cook the lead out over an open hotplate, give it to someone who can use it.

You could...

• List it on FreeCycle
• Donate it to a thrift store
• List it on Craig's list
• Put it by the curb with a free sign
• Have a garage sale
• Donate it to a local HackerSpace or Ham Club
• Take it to an auction house, people like to buy electronic junk. Just wait till you have a car load and the auctioneer will probably sell it in one or two bundles. The buyer will probably sort out what he wants, pile up the rest and sell it again. Eventually it's all or mostly re-used.