Philly’s Department of Making + Doing launches Saturday

Chalk up another win for the local maker scene.

As Technically Philly recently documented, the city is quickly becoming a vibrant hub of the tangible. Forget binary zeros and ones; physical objects are hot.

In that vein, four organizations are teaming up to launch the Department of Making + Doing this Saturday.

The collaborative workspace (at the former location of NextFab Studio) is meant to spread the DIY ethos of the maker movement via new programming aimed at students, adults and community groups.

“The basic theme would be arts and design at the intersection of technology and civic engagement,” said Dan Schimmel, director
 of Breadboard, a DMD partner organization.

That includes everything from workshops on hacking small electronics (via The Hacktory) to free classes on how to build benches from scrap wood (via Public Workshop).

Schimmel says the goal for the new DMD is simple: “Creating a space that’s buzzing with creativity.”

The launch event takes place Saturday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 3711 Market St.

“Basically, the agenda is to introduce the public to who we are, what we do and give ’em a sense of what we will be doing,” Schimmel said.

That includes a laser cutter and building four-story-tall cardboard towers.

You can RSVP here.