SCIENCE HACK DAY BERLIN 2017
17.11.2017 to 19.11.2017
MAR Gebäude (TU Berlin)
Marchstr. 23
10587 Berlin
Event chat channel: #SHDB:matrix.org (riot)
Hi there!
Great to see you here on discourse! If you signed up with the same email that you used for the registration at Science Hack Day Berlin, you should have editing rights already. If you don’t, please send an email with your username to lucy.shd@opentechschool.org and we’ll add you to the group.
Get ready for SHDB17 – pls do this…
1. Introduce yourself
Please use our intro thread to tell us who you are, what you’d like to explore and what skills you have (others maybe be looking for someone like you to join their team).
2. Have an idea? Pre-pitch it here before SHDB17
If you already have an idea for a science hack project you can ‘pre-pitch’ it here to find people excited about working together on this. It doesn’t have to be final, all set-up and ready to go, even fragmented concepts can be a great starting point for others to build on it. It is good to already have some idea about the feasibility, the skills and time needed to reach your goal the closer you get to a project you actually want to pitch. Create a new topic in the #science-hacking-berlin:SHDB17 category using the template as a guide, and invite feedback from others in the replies. Be nice, give feedback, work together. If people sign up to join your project, you can edit the original post to include that person’s name.
All posts on discourse are formatted in markdown. A handy guide on how to use it is here.
What will happen at SHDB17
Pitch / Join a team
Friday, 17.11.17, from 19:00 onwards: after some introduction business from us and a few inspiring lightning talks from our favourite science hackers, we will start with the Pitches. Each pitch has 2 minutes or less. You will not get more time. You don’t need to have a fully formed idea – it’s anyway better to leave room for the contributions of your team-mates. Don’t forget to say what kind of skills you think the project might need.
After the pitches there will be time to form groups. Exchange your contact info, chat about skills, have a good time.
And if you still have some energy left, please update your pre-pitch post, or write a new pitch-post about your project, including the names of any project member. This helps a lot.
Hack
From Saturday to Sunday, around lunch time, you’ll have time to work on your hacks. You can do whatever you want to get to your goal. We have a lot of tools and machines available. Please find any of the organisers to get an introduction or to ask about any special tool or material you might need. Usually we’ll find a solution or hack.
Keep in mind: A hack is only as good as its documentation, so take photos, notes, anything, that helps you to put together a post in the end to explain how you did it. Use your project post on discourse to document your hack publicly. In the name of open science we encourage everyone to publish their results under an open license like CC-BY.
Final documentation & Presentations
There will be a short final presentation where you’ll get five minutes, not more, to present your hack.
This year we are trying something a little new for the final presentations. We would like to put the focus on real face-to-face interaction and give people more time to check out your hacks in person, Maker Faire-style. So the documentation and presentation of your hacks will take 3 forms:
- A very short presentation in front of the audience. 1 minute and max 3 slides only. Be creative, be precise, but first and foremost: be quick about your presentation. This will act as a kind of promo to encourage people to come visit you and your hack during the…
- Live demos – after the presentations we will have a whole hour where you and your team can demo your hack Maker Faire-style on a table in the main room.
- All the amazing details of your work, your ideation process, the obstacles you had to get over, the code, CAD files (open source please!), will be documented on discourse in your project post. Here you will paste your code or link to github etc, post your pictures, describe your process and the final result. An example of such documentation can be found here.
We will not let you go without a documentation of your project.
Practical details
Communication
We have made a chat channel over at Riot, #SHDB:matrix.org, and really encourage you to join, at least during the event. This will be the place where you can ask quick questions along the lines of “Does someone know how to sew?” and “I am at $Store, does anyone need anything?”. Just follow the link, choose a meaningful username and you’re good to go. We will try to always have at least one organiser on duty to answer any urgent general questions.
Other than that, this Discourse category is the place for all your documentation, project-based interaction and long-lasting posts.
Food
Hackers do not only run on Mate and soldering fumes alone. That’s why we provide snacks, breakfast, lunch and dinner (meat, vegetarian and vegan options). On Saturday and Sunday we will provide a breakfast buffet and a warm lunch. On Saturday we will also provide a dinner. Coffee, tea, water and basic soft drinks will be free – bring your own cup to help us reduce paper waste! Drinks in bottles (mate, bionade, beer) will be available on a donation basis.
Tools and Equipment
The location is set up with a range of machines and tools to use (listed below). Before you use any of them, especially the more complicated or dangerous machinery, come and talk to one of the organisers. You will get an introduction and will be allowed to work on the machine from then on.
- Electronics workshop - Soldering, Oscilloscope, Signal Generator
- Ultimaker + custom 3D printers (basic filament)
- 40 Watts Laser Cutter Epilog (plus some acrylic + MDF + plywood)
- Needle Foam Cutter Manual + CNC
Hardware
We will have a nice selection of hardware to borrow/buy from the mega Science Hack Day Berlin hardware library and be happy to advise you at the hardware help desk: microcontrollers (arduino & similar ( IOT stuff), Raspberry Pi, Bare conductive touchboard, makey makey), sensors (chemical, acceleration, distance, light, biometric, temperature…), motors, LEDs, displays, wearables stuff, conductive paint, basic DIY electronics components (wire, solder, soldering irons, breadboards etc.) – full list to follow here.
We don’t have a lot of spare cash, but if you need it we have a small budget to cover your hardware and materials costs and can reimburse up to €20 per team.
Shopping
There are a couple of shops in the area to buy the much needed stepper motor, plastic tubing or Mate.
- Segor Electronics: Huge selection on electronics, but beware, closes quite early on Saturday. (google maps)
- Conrad Electronics: For all your more general needs, Conrad has a wide range of parts available, especially model building. (google maps)
- Bauhaus DIY store. Located at Wittenbergplatz (U2, U1), this small store offers most DIY material needed. (google maps)
- Idee: Located near Wilemersdorfer Str. and near KaDeWe, Idee sells all sorts of arts and crafts supplies.
- Ulrich Supermarket: open 24h round, located at Zoo station
Work safety
Your project might require dangerous tools or chemicals to work out. Before you do anything that could potentially harm you or others, come and talk to one of the organisers. This includes, but is not limited to,
- Lasers (anything above class 1, like the laser diode out of a DVD drive)
- Fast moving, heavy tools (angle grinders, electric saws…)
- Chemicals (bleach, solvents, acids, bases, alcoholic compounds…)
- Loud or explosive devices (sirens, fireworks…)
- Any other kind of explosive or flammable material.
This does not mean that you can’t do your project. But if we find you using any dangerous tool or material without having talked to us first, we will have to take consequences. Be smart, be safe.
Code of Conduct
This community is about collaboration, finding friends and working towards a common goal. Please be kind and respectful. We will not tolerate aggression towards other hackers. Please have a look at our code of conduct. Group dynamics can be special. Take a break, have a snack, talk to us (the organisers) and we can figure something out. This event should be fun for everyone.
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