What is a hackerspace? A guide to Valencia's makerspace
A hackerspace is a community-run open workshop for sharing tools, knowledge and technology projects. Here's what it is, what you'll find and how to take part in Valencia's.
You’ve probably heard of hackerspaces, makerspaces and hacklabs without being quite sure how they differ. Plenty of people still connect the word “hacker” with what they see in films. And in the middle of all that noise, it can be hard to work out where in Valencia you’d find a place with soldering irons, 3D printers and people happy to teach you how to use them. Let’s clear that up.
What a hackerspace is
A hackerspace is a workshop shared and run by a community. People gather there to build, repair, learn and share technology. Picture a cross between an electronics workshop, a digital fabrication lab and a club for technology enthusiasts, all of it run by the people who use it.
The word “hacker” doesn’t mean what the news suggests. In its original sense, hacking is about investigating, understanding how something works and changing it to make it better. The hackerspace is the physical place where that happens.
Hackerspace, makerspace and hacklab
The three terms overlap a lot and many people use them interchangeably, but it’s worth knowing the nuances.
The hackerspace grew out of free software, electronics and the do it yourself culture. It’s usually a non-profit association run by its members. The makerspace is a newer term, more focused on fabrication: 3D printing, laser cutting, woodworking or textiles, and sometimes with a more commercial angle. The hacklab has a historical and political character, tied to digital activism and rights on the internet.
In practice, a single space today can be all three. At Hackerspace Valencia we’re comfortable with the first two labels.
What you’ll find inside
Every hackerspace is different, but you’ll usually come across an area for basic electronics: soldering irons, multimeters, loose components and boards like Arduino or ESP32. There tend to be 3D printers and, sometimes, CNC mills or laser cutters. And workshop tools for assembling, taking apart and repairing almost anything.
The most important part, though, isn’t the machines. It’s the people. People who know about robotics, programming, circuit design or 3D printing, and who are happy to pass on what they know. That’s the difference between a rented workshop and a hackerspace.
Who can go
Anyone. You don’t need to be an engineer, know how to solder or have a project in mind. Hackerspaces live off curious people at very different levels: students who want to practise outside class, people who have never touched a soldering iron, professionals looking for a workshop without the cost of buying equipment, retirees getting into technology for the first time. If you’re curious, you already meet the one real requirement.
How Hackerspace Valencia works
We’re a non-profit association. We run on members’ fees and on the time each person can give. There are no employees: everyone helps out with what they can.
The easiest way to get to know us is to come to an open doors session, which we hold on alternating Tuesdays (the next one is martes alternos ) from 18:30 to 20:30 in the heart of Benimaclet. You can drop in without notice, look around the space, have a chat and think about whether you have a project you’d like to pursue. To come in whenever you like and use the tools, the usual step is to become a member with a small monthly fee that keeps the space open.
Why having a hackerspace in your city matters
A hackerspace lowers the barrier to getting into technology. Not everyone can have a 3D printer or an oscilloscope at home, and not everyone knows someone who can teach them to design a circuit. A shared space solves both problems at once.
It also stands for a simple, slightly contrarian idea: that understanding and repairing the things around you is a kind of freedom. Against the habit of throwing away what breaks and buying another, a hackerspace gives you the tools and the know-how to fix it.
And if you already have a project
This is where the model really shines. Say you want to build a weather station with an ESP32, put together a robotic arm, design your own printed circuit board or learn to 3D print parts. In a hackerspace you’ll find the tools, the space and, above all, people who have already been down that road and can save you weeks of trial and error.
To finish
A hackerspace is community, workshop and shared knowledge. If you live in Valencia and you’re drawn to electronics, computing, robotics or digital fabrication, there’s one in your city. The best way to understand it is to come and see it. We’ll be in Benimaclet.
Ready to come and meet us? Take a look at how to find us and the membership fees, or browse our projects to get a sense of what we build.