12 years of Tog

This time of year we normally gather our members and the wider community to celebrate our birthday. Our community is now 12 years old.

Unfortunately our normal festivities are not possible with the current restrictions. We thank you all the for continued support over the years.We have moved a lot of events online. You can find them all on our Meetup page.

https://www.meetup.com/Tog-Dublin-Hackerspace/

Coding nights, Crafting, book clubs, security research, Wikipedia contributions and nights of talks.But we have always been about sharing connections and experiences in person.

Here is a throwback to our first interview by the The Irish Times with members Jeffrey Roe & Robert Fitzsimons. We still believe about the importance of meeting in the physical world.

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/hackers-seek-physical-space-outside-the-virtual-world-1.741931?mode=amp

We hope to welcome you all back to our space and community when restrictions are lifted. Stay safe.

TOG’s Christmas Craft Online Show And Tell

This festive season will be a bit different, but we’d still love to see you all for TOG’s annual Christmas Craft Night, so we’re going virtual this year. Drop into Discord, show us some festive crafts you are working on or get some ideas for those last-minute Christmas gifts.

We will be meeting up on Wednesday 16th from 7 pm. For more information visit our meetup page. https://www.meetup.com/Tog-Dublin-Hackerspace/events/274864923/

Athlone Community College Calling ISS, Over

Athlone Community College has a once in a lifetime opportunity to make contact through amateur radio with the International Space Station (ISS) on 7th December 2020 at 2:50 pm.
Students from ACC will have about 11 minutes to put Athlone on the astronomical map as they make contact direct with the ISS while it orbits our planet at a speed of 27,600km/hr. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is part of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station programme (ARISS), which will see students from Athlone Community College speaking with U.S. Astronaut Shannon Walker onboard the ISS.

The event will be live-streamed on YouTube starting around 1:30 pm on Monday, December 7th. Watch for the live stream at: https://youtu.be/viVQBI4WzKs Contact with space station is about 2:50pm-3:00pm

Working with the students and staff of Athlone Community College will be Daniel Cussen our member the ARISS Radio Technical Co-ordinator. He will build, test and oversee the operation of the temporary “mission control” radio station EI1ISS. Daniel commented “I am thrilled that ACC has been chosen for this event. I am extremely passionate about amateur radio and technology and I am so excited to share my passion with these students and to inspire them to follow in my footsteps”

Find our more at https://www.ariss.org/upcoming-contacts.html

Laser Cut Christmas Decorations ?

We wanted to share a bit of Festive Cheer, fresh from our Laser Cutter! Hand-made by Robots. Check out our gallery for all the build photos.

The year started off great with our 11th birthday. Just as we finished hosting Science Hackday weekend hackathon in March the world changed. We’ve done our best to keep making alive and our doors open when restrictions allowed. Unfortunately, it has meant our normal programme of outreach events has not happened this year. We have moved many of our regular events online and host monthly live streams showcasing our member’s projects.

We hope next year will see a return to in-person events, talks, workshops and collaborating with the wider maker/tech/STEM community. 

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Covid 19 – Update

We are reopening from the 1st of December for all members. All scheduled events will continue to be held online during level three restrictions. For the latest up to date information please check out our calendar or meetup page.

Visitors are asked to contact us before visiting the space to arrange an appropriate time.

Christmas Decoration Competition

? We want to celebrate making this Christmas so we bring you the
Christmas Making Decoration Competition. We want to see all your homemade decorations this year.

It’s free, anyone of all ages can have fun making these decorations, hang them up, display them and be proud that you made it either yourself and even better, with your loved ones.

We are teaming up with Dublin Maker and Benchspace to bring you the season to be making.

Prizes

  • First Prize: €100 One4All eVoucher
  • x2 Runner-up Prizes: €50 One4All eVoucher

How to Enter

  1. Share your photos, videos on social media so everyone gets to enjoy your wonderful creations with #TisTheSeasonToBeMaking
    – Twitter: @DublinMaker @TOG_Dublin @BenchspaceCork
    – Instagram: @DublinMaker @benchspacecork
  2. For each decoration, submit via this form.
  3. DEADLINE: Sunday, December 13, 2020 (Midnight, Irish Time)

Terms and Conditions

  • Competition entrants must reside in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
  • 60% of the decoration must be home-made.
  • The Christmas Decoration can be placed on the tree or in a window. 
  • Anyone who is under 18s years of age must have a parent or guardian who is 18 years or over to submit their Christmas Decoration entry on their behalf.
  • TOG Hackerspace, Benchspace Cork and Dublin Maker are allowed to use images/videos you submit with your Christmas Decoration entry.
  • Judges’ decisions are final.

Judges

Our judging panel is made up of representatives from each of our partnering organisations. You can learn more about each of them below.

Meg “Without A Stitch”

Meg "Without a Stitch"

Meg has always been interested in crafting and creating. After her BA in Theatre which focused on costume and set design, she moved to Ireland and became involved in the cosplay scene. Since then she has judged for Dublin Comic Con and other cosplay competitions, but has a broad range of interests that includes embroidery, quilting, sewing, photography and prop making.

David Scannell

David Scannell (Benchspace)

David is a director of Benchspace Cork. He works full time in the Technology Industry and in his spare time is interested in all aspects of making including digital but primarily woodwork.

Vicky Twomey-Lee

Vicky Twomey-Lee

Vicky is the Maker Advocate on the Dublin Maker team, helping them co-ordinate Maker events, talk about Maker culture and connecting the community.