Hackerspaces For All Ages

So we are looking at starting our first hackerspace: IQ CO-Labs. It is looking like it will be a bit out of the way, possibly in Ft. Collins, CO, but that is for purposes of economical buildings and flexibility to grow our space.

There was something that caught my attention, and that is the fact that so much of the "hacker" culture is geared to 18-30 somethings. That is a tiny portion of the world. What if these hackerspaces were used to teach 11 year olds ras pi? Or how to wire Arduino sensors? We could sponsor a robotics team, we could get apprentices to pair with mentors that also worked in the shops. Fathers could come with their kids to teach them about woodworking, welding, or soldering.

And what about the 40-50 year olds that spent their lives as engineers, and just want to pass on a bit of wisdom to the next gen or to tinker? Perhaps this is a moment where author Richard Martin was right, "Here's to the next generation". Why not start innovation at a young age and cultivate it as they grow. Let them learn the skills that schools do not teach. Let's create lifelong hackers.

We can start with wunderkin hackerspaces, then they can be part of a teen hackerspace agreement, go to a hackerhouse as young adults and as professionals use a traditional hackerspace to create their projects. Then when they have families, they can take their kids to hackerspaces, and so on and so forth.

We can teach life skills, hacks, and tricks, projects, tech advice, life help, and anything else. Hmmm.