What are you doing this weekend in Columbia, SC? Maybe you’re attending a USC Baseball Regional game or spending the day outside in the beautiful southern weather. I’ll be attending and participating in South Carolina’s first Civic Day of Hacking. SC Day of Civic Hacking in coinciding with the National Civic Hacking Day which is taking place in 95 cities with an expected 6,000 participants. I’m urging you to be one of those participants. There are several activities going on around the downtown Columbia area so pick the one that’s right for you:
Why participate? “Public information” is often the most difficult data to use, although it includes things we want, need, and have a right to know. Learn what what’s available, and how to unlock it. Hang out with others who want to share information to improve our communities. If you’re up to a challenge, you might actually do something to help in just 30 hours. There will be food, drinks and music. And, to make it another hot weekend in Columbia, we’ll be collaborating with the folks at EdVenture Children’s Museum, which is hosting the Columbia Mini Maker Faire June 1.
Who should participate? Anyone interested in helping our communities become more accessible and transparent. No technical skills required!
If you aren’t interested in coding or developing, come out for the Block Party in the courtyard of the Tower at Gervais to hang out with hackers, designers, community leaders, and people who care about their communities. There’ll be live music from world-renowned local bands and singer-songwriters, delicious food from the Midlands’ yummiest food trucks, and drinks served. Begins at 6 p.m on Saturday!
Data Miners, Fact-checkers, and activists (Richland Library)
10 a.m to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 1
Richland Library is joining by hosting lectures and classes designed to help beginners take on technology projects and community leaders become more familiar with useful data already available online. Register online at
- Introduction to Blogging and Web design, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Introduction to iOS (the operating system behind Apple’s mobile devices), 10 -11:30 a.m.
- Hot Jobs in Information Technology (IT), noon-1 p.m.
- Data Manipulation: Getting and Using Good Information, 1-2:30 p.m.
Designers and Dreamers (Columbia Museum of Art)
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 1
South Carolina Day of Civic Hacking had to include the Columbia Museum of Art, if for no other reason than it shared a foundational belief reflected in the museum’s exhibit “Found in Translation: The Art of Steven Naifeh (through Sept. 1).” Like Naifeh, we believe art and science are not opposites, but differing means of seeing. A major civic hacking project will be to engage a team to re-design the museum’s online catalogue to make its content richer and its searches more robust. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the museum will be the site of Design-a-Hack, in which designers will compete to produce the best informational graphics featuring data about our area. Sign up under “Design a Hack”
Hackathon for Hackers (IT-oLogy)
8 a.m. Saturday June 1 through 2 p.m. Sunday, June 2
Immerse yourself for 24 hours in a coding project that can help others in Columbia solve problems or better their lives. You’ll be teaming up with others who design in your language. You can join one of the teams on a project that the organizers have launched, or you can assemble your own team for your own project.
Makers (EdVenture Children’s Museum)
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 1
The Columbia Mini Maker Faire at EdVenture is an all-ages gathering of tech enthusiasts, crafters, educators, tinkerers, hobbyists, engineers, science clubs, authors, artists and students. For more information, visit www.edventure.org.
I hope you participate in South Carolina’s first ever Day of Civic Hacking! To learn more visit our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter. You can register for SC Day of Civic Hacking here: www.scdoch.eventbrite.com