Adafruit vending machine @GeekdomSA – The World’s Most Powerful Collaborative Workspace.
Geekdom is a “collaborative” space based in San Antonio, Texas. It’s a twist on the traditional co-working or colocation model, in that we have a strong emphasis on organic group collaboration between our members. We intentionally office people in different fields together to encourage them to get different points of view when working on problems. Additionally, we recognize and encourage the inquisitiveness of our members, and are trying to create a space where they can explore varying interests, ranging from robotics and Arduino hacking, to photography and music. We also open our space to students ranging from middle school to college that are interested in learning and exploring in the tech world, which is where you guys come in.
What your stuff is doing in a vending machine: So Dirk Elmendorf, one of our founding partners here at Geekdom, bought a vending machine and bunch of your kits recently. We took your kits, and put them in said vending machine. Now, those kits are for sale at $1 each, instead of their original MSRP. (The real snacks are in the cabinet across from the machine, totally free of charge.)
The theory here is this: any of our professional members can obviously afford to buy a kit from you guys, so that’s not really the point. On the other hand, the middle and high students that come through here often can’t, or at least are discouraged by the price (or the the necessity of having a parent’s credit card). Here, if they have a buck, they’re welcome to give electronics a shot. We have a Maker space here with all the tools required, and members experienced in electronics who can give them free lessons in the skills they need.
We just got this thing set up, but if we get some pictures of our students working on your kits I’ll be sure to send them your way! I’ve also attached the pictures we took today of the vending machine so you can show off. 😛
Thanks for making awesome stuff folks, keep it up!
Remember folks, all hackerspaces can get reseller pricing at Adafruit – just contact us and we’ll set you up!
Omg, I absolutely need one of those!
This is really cool. I would love to have a hackerspace in my town one day. Adding a vending machine like this would be even better!
Well done!
Excellent work, making these tools available to high schoolers, I imagine it will be quite popular!