Welcome to the UMaine Hackerspace
The UMaine Hackerspace is a place for UMaine community members to explore technologies that are ever-expanding into our daily lives. Come learn how 3D printing is changing the way we design, shop, and interact. See how the Internet of Things is making appliances around us smarter. Get a taste of Raspberry Pi and see what this credit card-sized computer can do for you!
We invite students, faculty, and staff to stop by and check out what we have.
Just remember to sign the safety waiver and you’re good to go.
Open to the UMaine Community
Available for workshops, labs, drop-ins, and open use.
Open 12pm-5pm**, Monday – Friday
Located in the lower level of Memorial Union, Room 144
For faculty who are interested in using the Hackerspace for a lab or class, please contact Peter Schilling.
Questions, concerns, or suggestions for how we can support your academic pursuits? Email us!
wondering what you can make?
In the Fall of 2021, when her Intermedia class visited the Hackerspace, Ruixin Niu had an idea, but she wasn’t sure how she could make it happen.
A musician from China who plays the violin and the viola, she came to the UMaine to enroll as a MA student in Intermedia and simultaneously pursue an Interdisciplinary PhD. Her research combines elements from Music and the School of Performing Arts, the Intermedia program, and Art History.
Niu wanted to design a new instrument that would help listeners understand the possibilities inherent in Chinese Pentatonic music more clearly. She had envisioned a 3D-printed violin/viola that would use microcomputers and colored lights embedded in the instrument to translate the five notes into colors. By the end of the Spring Semester in 2023, after a lot of trial and error and with the assistance of the staff at UMaine’s Hackerspace, Niu not only had created her violin/viola, but she was able to use it in the performance she gave at the culmination of her MA in Intermedia.
When asked if she had advice for students interested in working with the Hackerspace, she replied, “I encourage everyone to go to the Hackerspace to discover anything that you can imagine. Even if the idea might seem a little bit unrealistic at the beginning, they have lots of very good facilities and staff who are kind of magicians to make the dream come true.”
Interested in learning more? Check out these videos.
WE want your old tech!
If you have tagged UMS equipment that needs a new home, Hackerspace patrons will mine your old gear for parts to invent something new. Drop off anytime during our regular hours or email: um.hackerspace@maine.edu.