Community Outreach

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Knox Makers wants everyone to have a place where they can use new technology and the familiar tools we've always loved to experience the joy of actually making something real.

As new hardware and software tools for crafting, coding, digital design, and fabrication are emerging, we are working together to place those tools into the hands of our community. We are building the infrastructure necessary for more people in Knoxville to connect to a future in which they can personally change, modify, or create things that were nearly impossible to do on their own just a few years ago.

Knox Makers brings the excitement and energy of the hands-on global maker culture and makerspace communities to the Knoxville area, to provide a lifelong learning environment alongside a locally run workspace soaring with possibilities.

This page is dedicated to information and resources about our community outreach projects and partnerships.

If you have information you think should be on here, please reach out to board@knoxmakers.org.

2014 Dogwood Arts Festival

2014 Children's Festival of Reading

2014 Robot Extravaganza

2014 Blount County BBQ Bash

2014 Mad Scientist Day!

2013 1st Annual Steampunk Carnivale

2014 2nd Annual Steampunk Carnivale

Earn-A-Computer (EAC)

2014 STARs

2012 Atlanta Mini-Maker Faire

2013 Atlanta Mini-Maker Faire

2014 Atlanta Mini-Maker Faire

2013 Kingsport Mini-Maker Faire

2014 Kingsport Mini-Maker Faire

July 13, 2014, Kingsport, TN. Knox Makers arrived at the auditorium on Sunday with Pablo and three 3D printers, the first thing we saw was someone else's large polargraph (drawing on a whiteboard) and about half a dozen Makerbot 3D printers. We felt our thunder had been stolen, but we set up anyway.

We're glad we did. Our booth was in a high foot traffic area and remained busy all day. We met a couple of kindred spirits that we expect to see at a Tuesday workshop soon. We also got to talk to a lot of folks who had heard of 3D printing, but weren't really sure what it was and/or had never seen it in person.

We enjoyed explaining to folks that the other 3D printers on display were "store bought," while ours were lovingly handcrafted by local nerds. This attracted a lot of interest, as did Pablo's drawings that accumulated and got taped up as the day progressed. Many folks asked what business we were in, and seemed pleasantly surprised to discover that we were representing a non-profit hobby group and not trying to hawk anything. Issac gave out many KM-branded keychain trinkets, and Doug learned about the heartache of 3D printing with nylon live and in public.

Partway through the day, Bumblebee's extruder tension arm broke. Happily, Issac's (unnamed) printer was able to manufacture a replacement part on the spot, which Sam promptly installed. The tale of the one machine "repairing" the other captivated a number of folks, and the jaunty red tension arm stood out and served as a conversation piece for the rest of the day.

Toward the end, a couple of kids (about 8 and 14) from the FIRST robotics table next door came over with a laptop, having excitedly just designed a little 3D man (their ode to Minecraft's Steve) that they hoped we'd print for them. I wasn't "taking requests," but their earnest young faces were irresistible. I managed to slice it with support and get it printed just in time, and their reaction was totally worth it. It was a nice way to end the day.

2014 Louisville Mini-Maker Faire

2013 Nashville Mini-Maker Faire

2014 Nasvhille Mini-Maker Faire

2014 1st Annual National Day of Making