Hacklab’s current lease is ending, and our building is being reconstructed and repurposed. After almost 3 ½ months of looking for the perfect spot, we voted to move to 1677 St. Clair Ave. W. Moving is a lot of work, so please come and help out! Open house and other public events will continue at 1266 Queen St. W., until further notice.

Our current location, 1266 Queen W, has served us well for the last 4 years. But come the new year, all tenants must leave the building for the constructions of additional floors.

Hacklab needs a new home. A Hacklab 3.0!

If you know of any spaces please reach out to us.

We’re looking for:
* 1500 – 2200 sqr/ft
* Dividable in to three main areas: Machine Shop, BioLab and common area.
* Transit accessibility

It’s everyone’s favorite time again, Junk Independence Day! Rocking Hacklab Toronto, this 18th from 2pm-7pm. Bring your e-waste and dig through other people’s for treasures. On previous Junk Independence Days, people have walked away with an iPod touch, a 1TB hard drive, working classic iMacs, bubblejet printers, a Sony mini-DV camcorder, stereo amps, speakers, a desktop computer and even walk/don’t walk streetlights! Not to be forgotten, there are always lots of little chips and bytes for random hacking, too.

Anything left at the end will be picked up on following Monday and responsibly recycled by Revolution Recycling, who has been participating in our Junk Independence Days since the first one. Thanks Revolution!!

/!\ Reminder: Please don’t disassemble items brought in for the Junk Day, if you want only part of an item, take it home, and bring the rest back next junk day. This avoids unfortunate situations were someone brings in a working laptop, and some who really needs it, can’t get it because in between someone else tore it in half for a speaker or a battery.

Celebrate both Hallowe’en and Hacklab’s milestone 10th year in style at our Hack’o’ween Fundraiser! We’ll have DJs and dancing, a raffle with awesome prizes provided by our members including 1-on-1 lessons and mentoring in a wide range of areas, Hacklab t-shirts, collectables and more! Spooky weird science is everywhere!

Hacklab is the longest-running makerspace in Toronto. Started from humble beginnings as a place for techies to build and play with equipment as well as controlling it with software programming in a Kensington bunker, Hacklab has grown to include the DIYBio and chemistry lab, sewing corner, VR lab and more.

Come help us celebrate and raise funds to ensure the doors stay open and we continue to share and help members and non-members alike make their dream projects come to life!

Snacks, non-alcoholic beverages and fluorescent mocktails will be available however this is a BYOB event.

Nitty Gritty Data:

Saturday October 27th, 2018 9pm – 2am

$20 in advance

Tickets available through Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/hackoween-2018-tickets-50801266957 linked to Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/2143497519015524/

**no ticket refunds 7 days run up to the event

IMG_3743 by W1N9Zr0

Every last Saturday of the month, from around 3 pm until whenever people leave, the lab opens up our front door to members of the public. We’re specifically excited about folks who want to show off projects they have made or are working on, want to ask for help with making something awesome, or want to help out on other folks’ projects. Bringing a laptop along to just chill out with other geeks is also welcome.

There’s no minimum skill level required to participate, and we do our best to be a respectful, friendly environment for everyone. Regretfully we are not wheelchair accessible – there are steps leading up to the floor the lab is on. As a heads-up to folks with sensory processing issues, the Tuesdays can get quite busy and noisy. 3-5pm tends to be the busiest time, but in our new larger space there are usually places you can get away from it.

Members of the media are also welcome, but in the interest of member privacy, we have cute little press passes hanging by the door and require that permission is sought before taking photos with people in them.

It’s everyone’s favorite time again, Junk Independence Day! Rocking Hacklab Toronto, this July 22nd from 2pm-7pm. Bring your e-waste and dig through other people’s for treasures. On previous Junk Independence Days, people have walked away with an iPod touch, a 1TB hard drive, working classic iMacs, bubblejet printers, a Sony mini-DV camcorder, stereo amps, speakers, a desktop computer and even walk/don’t walk streetlights! Not to be forgotten, there are always lots of little chips and bytes for random hacking, too.

Anything left at the end will be picked up on following Monday and responsibly recycled by Revolution Recycling, who has been participating in our Junk Independence Days since the first one. Thanks Revolution!!

Eventbrite free tickets/reminder:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/junk-independence-day-tickets-47904529738

Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1821960631159775/

Cryptocurrency Workshop July 13, 2018 7pm

Ever wondered what Bitcoin is, why there’s so much hype around it and why it is worth so much money? In this workshop we will learn what Bitcoin is, what the blockchain technology it’s built upon is, and how it relates to other blockchain technologies such as Ethereum and Hyperledger.

Buy your $5 tickets now on Eventbrite and get the cost back in crypto, provided you download a wallet app to your phone either before or during the presentation! (no refunds after 7 days before the event)

Sign up now and we’ll see you July 13, 2018 at 7pm!

Norm guides this study group for beginners, intermediate, and experienced users. Come and work on your projects, help others out, learn new skills, or just get started with a super basic project. Learn workflows to 3D printers, the laser cutter, and engraver. Exchange ideas, and gain confidence to build your next projects.

Fusion 360 is the first 3D CAD, CAM, and CAE tool of its kind. It connects your entire product development process in a single cloud-based platform that works on both Mac and PC. Beginners can download an educational version from https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/fusion-360/learn-explore/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/How-to-activate-start-up-or-educational-licensing-for-Fusion-360.html

Free workshop, suggested $5 donation to Hacklab.to. Bring snacks, pop for sale $1.

Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/fusion-360-workshop-study-and-mentorship-group-tickets-41858290273

Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/400667247056473/?event_time_id=400667263723138

Large Man Looking At Co-Worker With A Magnifying Glass — Image by © Images.com/Corbis

An introductory seminar on how to protect your privacy online.

Todd, a systems administrator for a security training firm and an advocate for digital privacy, will help you identify some common risks to your basic privacy, walk you through keeping your everyday communications secure, and show you some easy-to-use top-notch tools recommended by experts in the field.

From Facebook to iMessage, we could be exposing private data through the software we use every day and Todd will show you how it happens, and how you can optimize your devices, both laptop and mobile, to protect your privacy through PowerPoint visuals and in-class practical examples.

There will a Q & A after the presentation. Students are encouraged to bring laptops and mobile devices for optimization, however Todd will not be available for tech support of infected devices.

Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/internet-privacy-basics-tickets-43024247683

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/163341417644579/

It’s everyone’s favourite time again: the first Junk Independence Day of 2018! Coming up on February 18th from 2pm-7pm (or later). Bring your e-waste and dig through other people’s for treasures. On previous Junk Independence Days, people have walked away with an iPod touch, a 1TB hard drive, working classic iMacs, bubblejet printers, a Sony mini-DV camcorder, stereo amps, speakers, a desktop computer and even walk/don’t walk streetlights! Not to be forgotten, there are always lots of little chips and bytes for random hacking, too.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1574038156049596/

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/junk-independence-day-tickets-43005470520

Anything left at the end will be picked up on Monday, 19th of February and responsibly recycled by Revolution Recycling, who has been participating in our Junk Independence Days since the first one. Thanks Revolution!!

Come hang out with some fellow hackers and search for hidden treasures! Tickets are not necessary but Eventbrite is a great way to sign up and get reminders. You can also RSVP via our Facebook event. See you at JID!

[edit: Monday the 19th is a holiday in Ontario so junk will be picked up on Tuesday morning, the 20th.]