MELAKEELA
BUILDING · DIGITAL MUSEUM
Ancient history as an investigation world.
History × education × research × web × interactive media.
LOOKING FOR → 3D · ANIMATION · EDUCATION · ACCESSIBILITY
A student exchange for ideas, projects + making
WHAT ARE
YOU INTO?
People are making, questioning and figuring things out all over Durham. Find something. Start something. X something.
CROSS FIELDS · RANDOM X 001
ANIMAL CARE
×
ELECTRONICS
Can technology notice something an animal can't tell us?
Some Xs have an obvious first question. Some don't. That's the point.
Projects · things already in motion
MADE AROUND HERE.
Not polished “success stories.” Real student work: ideas, experiments, websites, films, products, research, prototypes and things that are still a little broken.
SMART PLANT 01
PROJECT SEED · SENSING
Can the plant tell us before we notice?
Horticulture × electronics × AI × environmental.
NEEDS X → SENSORS · COMPUTER VISION
EASYGRIP / 01
FIGURING IT OUT · ACCESSIBILITY
Ordinary objects, less unnecessary effort.
PSW × OTA/PTA × mechanical × design.
NEEDS X → CAD · 3D PRINTING · USER PERSPECTIVE
UNTITLED / FILM
JUST AN IDEA · MEDIA
A project doesn't need a business model.
Film × local stories × sound × whatever else it needs.
LOOKING FOR → SOUND · STORIES · PEOPLE
There is more than one way in
PUT SOMETHING IN THE EXCHANGE.
You don't need to call yourself a maker. Start with whatever you actually have: a project, a frustration, a skill, an obsession or a question.
01
I'm building something.
Show the unfinished thing. Find people who might make it better.
02
I've noticed a problem.
You don't need the solution. Put the observation into the network.
03
I need an X.
Find a collaborator, perspective, skill or piece of knowledge you're missing.
04
I want to join something.
Find a project that needs what you know—or what you want to learn.
05
I'm into something.
Animals. Cars. Cities. Ancient history. Accessibility. Weird machines. Start there.
06
I want to learn.
Come to a Lab Night, join a swarm, shadow a skill or try something unfamiliar.
Problem Exchange
WHAT ARE PEOPLE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT?
A problem can stay a question, become a swarm, or turn into a project. Nobody has to pretend they already know the answer.
Why is so much everyday packaging hostile to weak grip?
Could we measure the force, watch where people struggle and redesign the interaction instead of telling the person to adapt?
12 CURIOUSSWARM THIS →
Can caregivers get earlier signals of stress?
8 CURIOUSADD YOUR X →
Why are so many wasps gathering around these garbage bins?
HORTICULTURE × ENVIRONMENTAL × FACILITIES?SWARM →
ANIMALSROBOTSANCIENT HISTORYACCESSIBILITYCARSGARDENINGAIHOUSINGMUSICCITIESFOODGAMINGFILMLAWAGINGDATAWEIRD MACHINESANIMALSROBOTSANCIENT HISTORYACCESSIBILITYCARSGARDENINGAIHOUSINGMUSICCITIESFOODGAMINGFILMLAWAGINGDATAWEIRD MACHINES
Scout Durham's maker network
WHAT COULD BE MADE HERE?
The campus already has people, spaces, tools and expertise. DurhamX helps students discover what exists and what access, training or supervision it actually requires.
MAKE3D printing · fabrication · trades · prototypes
MOVERobotics · automation · motion capture
GROWPlants · food · greenhouses · urban agriculture
SENSEElectronics · instrumentation · IoT
SEECameras · machine vision · imaging
TESTBiotech · water · environmental · analytical
THINKAI · computing · data · cyber
TELLFilm · audio · photography · design
X-pollinate · cross fields
THE EXCHANGE.
What you know may be exactly what somebody else is missing. DurhamX makes those signals visible.
I KNOW×I'M INTO×I NEED×I'M LEARNING
Serendipity is a feature
DON'T HAVE AN IDEA? GOOD.
Come learn something. Join somebody else's project. Bring an interest. Bring a question. Or just see where you land.
Lab Nights
QUESTIONS WORTH LEAVING CLASS FOR.
Provocative entry points into fields you may never otherwise encounter. Some become builds; some simply change what you know is possible.
ANIMAL CARE × ELECTRONICS × AI
Can Technology Tell When an Animal Is Stressed?
Behaviour first. Sensors second. AI third. Human judgement stays in the loop.
PSW × OTA/PTA × DESIGN × MECHANICAL
Design for 85.
Can accessibility be useful, inexpensive and something you'd actually want in your home?
ANY FIELD × AI
What Would You Want a Computer to Notice?
Start with the phenomenon, not the hype. Then ask whether a computer should—or even can—detect it.
Founding year · Durham College