April 2019

Message From the President

Empower2Make is in the final countdown. Closing ceremonies are Sunday morning, April 14, with guests Ken Plum, Virginia House of Delegates, 36th District, and Vint Cerf, V.P., Chief Internet Evangelist for Google.

The current space for Nova Labs is secured through the end of January 2022. The terms are more favorable, with a lower annual increase and no termination rights on either side (neither one can back out). This provides a runway to prepare Nova Labs’ future home. A member meeting is planned for Sunday afternoon, April 28. Daryl and Sam will team up to present the results of the town halls, financials, and membership trends. If you missed the March meeting, be sure to catch this one that captures work over the last quarter and kick starts the work ahead for Nova Labs 3.0.

This April, Julia Smith is transitioning out of her role supporting the front kiosk. Julia’s warm welcome, cheerful smile, and helpful hand has brightened the makerspace and eased the workload for many. Julia’s last day is April 14.

Happy Making!

Marybeth Haneline
Nova Labs President

RSVP for the next Member Meeting – Sunday, April 28, 2-4p

Board Updates

Board Update: April 2019

Patrick Waters has taken a new role stewarding across shop areas as the Steward Coordinator. Frank Sogandares has stepped up as Lead Woodshop Steward and Frank Hum as Lead Metalshop Steward. Curt Welch continues in his role as Assistant Steward Coordinator, but we are very thankful for his time serving as interim Lead Metalshop Steward.

In March, over 30 volunteers pitched in for our first whole shop roundup of the metal, wood, laser, and blacksmithing areas. That same weekend, volunteers supported the Woodshop Show at the Dulles Expo center. We do amazing things when we work together as a team.

Provided by the Board

Electronics Evening Group

by Shane Smith

Do you have an old project you want to get back to? Or a new project you just started? Maybe you want to start a project and wonder what kind of project to do? Come be part of our first “Electronics Evening”, where you can work on your electronics projects, whether it be an Arduino, ESP8266, microcontroller, TTL, or discrete electronics project. You can work on your projects or ask us about ours! Get help (if you need it), share (if you want to), or learn about the electronics resources here at Nova Labs.

URL: https://www.meetup.com/NOVA-Makers/events/260102989/

Happenings in April

Some of the Main Attractions in April are below. Please RSVP via the links.

Apr 5: FLL Skillbuilding Workshop

Apr 6: Robotics Roundup to create space in the member cages and a functional tool room

Apr 11, 25 Going Pro: supporting Nova Labs hobbyists, every 2nd and 4th Thursday

Apr 11, 25 Electronics Evenings

Apr 14: E2M Public Presentations and Closing Ceremony, please RSVP

April: Area Girl Scout troops have 3 events supporting youth STEM, including woodworking and other maker badges

Fridays at 6pm: Drone World Speed Record Building Event

Check the Calendar of Events for the schedule of upcoming events

Provided by Jennyfer Peterson and Karen Shumway

Volunteer Spotlight

Curt Welch: Blacksmith and Enabler

Curt Welch made an adjustable height anvil stand for a friend who teaches Blacksmithing. His friend, Caitlin, had asked that he make a stand to enable a lady who is in a wheelchair, but dreams of blacksmithing. He made the stand and she brought him one of her pieces as a present. Says Curt, “It’s whatever you want it to be!”

As we dedicate bandwidth to the Empower2Make event this month, it’s important to remember that this three day make-a-thon is not a one-off program for Nova Labs. Our tools and makers empower all sorts of people to make all kinds of things at all times, not just once or twice a year.

Call for Volunteers

Critical Needs

• Front desk volunteer needed for Wednesdays and Thursdays
• Empower2Make: Makers to fill out the teams needed ASAP
• MakerFaire Makers to show us what you got
• Summer interns at the college and high school level

Additional Opportunities

In addition, NOVA Labs is seeking volunteer help for the following:

• Looking for PHP hackers who enjoy working with APIs and systems integration
• Website – site maintenance and upgrades
• Programmers needed for NOVA Pass and member care development effort
• Outreach team members – Help our team lead with website content, social media, pictures, marketing, and outreach to external communities
• Open-house tour helpers, 2nd Saturday of each month
• Blog contributors for “how you made it” entries
• Crafter’s Cove: Administrative Steward to assist Carrie

Contact volunteering@nova-labs.org if you’re interested! You can also visit the webpage at https://www.nova-labs.org/volunteer/