Everyone knows that University City, as the name suggests, is chockfull of science and technology as well as art, culture, business, and everything else you find when several world-class universities inhabit a small space. One of the great institutions along Philadelphia’s “Avenue of Technology,” however, isn’t actually affiliated with any specific university. The University City Science Center is a research park unto itself, and as such is host to tons of fabulous organizations. One of those is Breadboard.

Breadboard, as they tell you on their Facebook page, is a non-profit program at the Science Center that facilitates public access to a new generation of tools and resources in an effort to empower individuals and convene communities around creative applications of technology. Simply put, Breadboard puts people in touch with two different things at the nexus of technology and art. One is the Esther Klein Art Gallery, in the lobby of the building at 3600 Market Street. The gallery hosts rotating exhibits of tech-inspired art and is always worth a look. The other offers a less passive experience and is, dare I say, totally awesome. I’m talking about Nextfab Studio.

Nextfab is a brand new studio/workshop/tech enthusiast’s dream. The studio sits at the intersection of art, community, and technology (which happens to be at 37th and Market, by the way). Basically, it offers access to super fancy, expensive, high-tech equipment to anyone who’d like to use it. That includes artists, designers, entrepreneurs, engineers, architects, crafters, DIY enthusiasts, and students (including high school students, for whom Breadboard runs a special program). You have to pay a membership fee and do some training to learn how to use the equipment – you wouldn’t want to slice off your hand, now would you? – but once you’re done with that you can use any of the machines, most of which cost thousands and thousands of dollars.

They have some standard equipment, like welders and table saws, but most of the stuff is mind-blowingly high tech and runs off of computer files. You can set a digital sewing machine to embroider a fancy design at the touch of a button, or program the vinyl cutter to create elaborate decals and iron-ons for your t-shirt company. Or cut a design out of plexiglass with the laser cutter or (even better) out of an inch-thick sheet of metal with the plasma cutter. The coolest machines in the shop would have to be the 3-D scanning, printing, and milling machines. Nope, that doesn’t mean printing an image that pops out when you put on special glasses – it means creating an actual sculpture from your digital rendering or scanned head (check out the picture!).

NextFab offers unbelievable opportunities and machines you didn’t even know existed. It’s insane. Check it out. (Oh, and if it’s too insane for you, you can always have them create your design for you. But where’s the fun in that?!)

NextFab Studio
3711 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 921-3649
www.nextfabstudio.com

Breadboard
www.breadboardphilly.org
(215) 966-6188