Tampa Hackerspace upcoming events

Maker Monster Mash Kick-Off Event (10 Apr 2026)

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Want to stretch your maker muscles? Want to doodle, design, and develop in a duo? Want to make a mysterious, mischievous mini monster? Join the Maker Monster Mash, a month-long collaborative creature creation challenge. The challenge will start with a kick-off event for all participants to draw a monster. Don’t worry about your drawing skills, we’re just getting funky with some markers and construction paper. After everyone has drawn their monsters, we’ll toss them all in a pile and everyone will pull one randomly. Everyone will then have 1 month to make the monster they received, using whatever creative skills and materials they want. At the end of the challenge, we’ll all come back together to show off our monsters and swap them back.

The kick-off event will be Friday, April 10th from 7-8pm. After that everyone will have until the end event on Friday, May 8th to finish their creation.

Fee: None

FAQs:
What kind of things can I use to make my monster? - Anything you want. model it and then 3D print it, tuft it, laser engrave it, embroider it, crochet it, carve it, make it out of clay, felt it, weld it, whatever you do.
How long do I have to make my monster? - One month. The kick off is April 10th and the end on May 8th.
Who can participate? - Current Tampa Hackerspace members.
Do I get to keep my creature? - At the end of the challenge everyone will swap creatures with the original artist, so you’ll get the monster that you drew at the beginning, which was crafted by someone else.
I can’t make the kick off event, can I still participate? - Sure! If you’d like to send in and receive a monster, draw your monster and send me a picture of it on slack before the kick-off and it will be added to the pool. I’ll pull one of the other monsters and send it to you.
Can I get help from other makers for my monster? - Absolutely! It’s a collaborative challenge after all!

Sew Awesome! (12 Apr 2026)

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 21:30:00 GMT

Sewers, costumers, quilters, cosplayers, clothing designers, and textile artists & crafters of all kinds, come see what Tampa Hackerspace has to offer and meet others who share your interest in making things out of fabric and fiber! This meetup is free of charge and open to all.

(Yes, this includes you, knitters, crocheters, cross-stitchers, embroiderers, weavers, tie-dyers, and anyone else who works with fabric, thread, yarn, etc.)

Think of this as an "Open Make" event -- bring your project, or just come to learn & see what others are working on.

We have sewing machines set up, including a serger, and a large cutting table. If you have a project to work on, you may want to bring a sewing machine if you would like.

Weekly Open Make Night (14 Apr 2026)

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 22:00:00 GMT

This is our weekly open house, open to everyone. We will be giving tours of our space throughout the evening. Many members will be present to socialize and share ideas. Feel free to bring projects you are working on.

No registration needed, you can just show up.

3D Printing: Models and Slicers (15 Apr 2026)

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 23:00:00 GMT

This class is offered online. It is open to everyone.

Members should log in for member pricing!

Please note: this is not the tool signoff for 3D printing at Tampa Hackerspace.

This is a hands-on, online class for anyone who is brand new to 3D printing and wants to get up and running with choosing models and getting them ready to print. We recommend that you join this class from a computer you will be using to prepare models for printing, especially if you are a member of Tampa Hackerspace and plan to use the machines at our site. This class does involve installing software on your computer and following along with the instructor; however, there is no final project, and you are free to listen and take notes instead.

We’ll take a look at a few sources for models that you may want to print, and we’ll look at how to tell what kinds of modifications your model might need to print successfully. We’ll walk through setting up PrusaSlicer, an interface that will convert the digital images of your model into toolpaths for the printer to make your model into a physical object. Finally, we’ll take a model from .STL to GCode to show you the full process of getting a print ready for production. Once we’re done, we can cover some questions and answers you may have about 3D printing and, if applicable, joining Tampa Hackerspace.

If you do not already have PrusaSlicer installed, you can download it directly from Prusa (for free!) at https://www.prusa3d.com/en/page/prusaslicer_424/ . We won’t spend much time on the install during class, so you can save yourself some time if you download and install before we meet. I will be in the class a bit early in case you have any questions about downloading and installing the software. (Note that PrusaSlicer runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux.)

The member price is for paid members of Tampa Hackerspace. Information on becoming a paid member can be found on our website (http://tampahackerspace.com/membership). You can prepay for the class at our Square Marketplace (https://tampahackerspace.square.site/product/3d-printing-non-members-/4?cs=true).

Gulf Coast MakerCon (18 Apr 2026)

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Tampa Hackerspace will have a table at the Gulf Coast MakerCon. We will also have a robot competing!

Learn more about the event on their website:
https://gulfcoastmakercon.com/

If you would like to help staff the table, join the #event-gulf-coast-makercon channel on slack.

Quilting 101 (19 Apr 2026)

Sun, 19 Apr 2026 21:30:00 GMT

Goal: Make a quilted patchwork potholder to learn the basics of quilting.

Final Product: 6” square, quilted, potholder in the Railfence pattern.

Prior Experience: Ideally, you should have some experience with a sewing machine and be able to sew a straight line. Otherwise, this is a beginner-friendly class!

About the Instructor:
Mackenna is a new member of the Tampa Hackerspace, but a longtime crafter. She enjoys crafts like sewing, knitting, crocheting, and more. Mackenna made her first quilt in high school and will happily geek out about quilting with you any time.

Agenda:

Part 1: What is Quilting? (~20 minutes)
In this part, I’m going to talk to you about quilting. Do you need to know most of this to quilt? No. But I am teaching this class, and I am a nerd about quilting and historical quilts. So I’m going to tell you some stuff before we start. We’ll also go over the quilting steps and the patterns we’ll be using. You know, the stuff you actually need to know.
Part 2: Cutting (~20 minutes)
We will learn how to cut material, and then everyone will cut a couple of squares. We will not be cutting out all the pieces for all the potholders, since that will take too long. Instead, we’ll cut some squares and *pull magically pre-cooked pieces out of the oven*.
Part 3: Patchworking (~45 minutes)
We’re gonna break out the sewing machines and make our patchwork quilt blocks with the Railfence pattern. We’ll practice sewing ¼” seams and techniques like strip piecing and nesting seams.
~~~ Break ~~~ (15 minutes)
Part 4: Quilting (~30 minutes)
In this part, you’ll turn your quilt block into a potholder. We’ll create a “quilt sandwich”, layering the face, batting, and a backing. Next, we’ll trace our quilting pattern onto the face using a water-soluble pencil or chalk. Last, we’ll use machine quilting to sew through all layers of the quilt sandwich, quilting them together.
Part 5: Binding (~45 minutes)
To finish up our potholders, we will add binding around the edges.

Weekly Open Make Night (21 Apr 2026)

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 22:00:00 GMT

No registration needed, you can just show up.

Learn to Solder - Message Heart (24 Apr 2026)

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Learn to solder while making a gift for someone special.

We have a lot of these "Valentine" message heart kits and it's a long way to next February, so maybe make one for mom? You can enter a custom message to scroll across the display.

You can see what they look like at the Four Bit Industries website:

https://fourbitindustries.com/?product=valentine-heart-soldering-practice-kit

No experience required, all materials are provided. Please contact us before registering anyone under 18.

Instructor:
Paul has been teaching soldering and basic electronics for more than a decade. For a time he made learn-to-solder kits.

Let's Learn to Turn Pens! (25 Apr 2026)

Sat, 25 Apr 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Learn how to take a piece of wood or epoxy (a blank), and go through the steps to turn it on the lathe to end with a finished pen. At the end of the class, you'll have a beautiful, custom pen you made yourself and you'll be signed off on the mini-lathe.

The class includes a break and will likely finish in less than four hours. You'll be hands on turning your pen and finishing it. All materials for one pen are included in the class registration.

Instructor:

Bruce Sharp is an experienced woodworker with many years of experience.

Sew Awesome! (26 Apr 2026)

Sun, 26 Apr 2026 21:30:00 GMT

(Yes, this includes you, knitters, crocheters, cross-stitchers, embroiderers, weavers, tie-dyers, and anyone else who works with fabric, thread, yarn, etc.)

Think of this as an "Open Make" event -- bring your project, or just come to learn & see what others are working on.

We have sewing machines set up, including a serger, and a large cutting table. If you have a project to work on, you may want to bring a sewing machine if you would like.

Weekly Open Make Night (28 Apr 2026)

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 22:00:00 GMT

No registration needed, you can just show up.

Weekly Open Make Night (5 May 2026)

Tue, 05 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

No registration needed, you can just show up.

Sew Awesome! (10 May 2026)

Sun, 10 May 2026 21:30:00 GMT

(Yes, this includes you, knitters, crocheters, cross-stitchers, embroiderers, weavers, tie-dyers, and anyone else who works with fabric, thread, yarn, etc.)

Think of this as an "Open Make" event -- bring your project, or just come to learn & see what others are working on.

We have sewing machines set up, including a serger, and a large cutting table. If you have a project to work on, you may want to bring a sewing machine if you would like.

Weekly Open Make Night (12 May 2026)

Tue, 12 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

No registration needed, you can just show up.

Weekly Open Make Night (19 May 2026)

Tue, 19 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

No registration needed, you can just show up.

Sew Awesome! (24 May 2026)

Sun, 24 May 2026 21:30:00 GMT

(Yes, this includes you, knitters, crocheters, cross-stitchers, embroiderers, weavers, tie-dyers, and anyone else who works with fabric, thread, yarn, etc.)

Think of this as an "Open Make" event -- bring your project, or just come to learn & see what others are working on.

We have sewing machines set up, including a serger, and a large cutting table. If you have a project to work on, you may want to bring a sewing machine if you would like.

Weekly Open Make Night (26 May 2026)

Tue, 26 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

No registration needed, you can just show up.