[hackerspaces] How did you all first find out about Hackerspaces?

[Arclight]

I used to hang out a place called the Youth Science Center. It was sort of
a relic left over from the space race, when American parents cared about
their kids learning about science and such. It was a non-profit that got a
free disused classroom and was staffed by what I would now identify as
hackers.  One of the guys who helped run it had repeatedly and aggressively
applied to NASA, trying to be the youngest astronaut at the time, another
was a mad scientist who invented a bunch of medical equipment, and several
others were programmer/geeks

I learned BASIC on a TI-99/4a, we set things on fire all the time, and they
had an awesome once-a-year sale of surplus lab junk from Beckman and Hughes
where some of the benefactors of the place worked.  They would also pay the
bills by renting more classrooms and off-duty teachers during the Summer
and putting on math, science and other classes.

Eventually, the school kicked them out due to overcrowding and not seeing
much value in their mission. The sports teams that used the surrounding
fields and facilities also saw it as a big nuisance.

Their sister location is still around, supported by the mostly-Asian
community they are located in. Check it out:

http://www.youthsciencecenter.org/

As for our space: We were into BBSs in the early 90s. I started one in my
town, and we would have user meets every Tuesday.  Years later, we all had
Internets,the BBS was gone but we were still having user meets and parties.
Eventually, we decided to get a space and do something like we always heard
about the CCC, L0pht and other folks doing. Have run our current space for
about 6 years.


Arclight
23b Shop
Fullerton, CA
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