There’s a tinkerer in just about all of us, but for some, the instinct to make things is stronger than others. And for those good people, there are maker spaces.

Maker spaces are places where people can learn about fun new technologies, exchange ideas and designs, and of course, make things. In an era where an increasing amount of our lives are spent online and in the digital realm, maker and related clubs provide a hands-on alternative. The movement is closely related to citizen science, in that it’s average citizens like you and I doing things for ourselves with very cool science and technology. (I’ll cover a maker group directly related to citizen science later this week.)

Meanwhile, Make Magazine has an excellent directory of clubs and groups around the world. Their directory, which can be found here, includes maker spaces, robotics clubs, hacker groups, dorkbots (“doing strange things with electricity”), Arduino groups, techshops and workshops.

Still not sure what the fuss is about? Check out the following TED talk on one of the more popular maker space technologies, 3D-printing. (Think: Star Trek replicator. And you can buy one for your home right now.)

Photo by Alexandre Debiève on Unsplash