Find a venue

Reserve a comfortable venue where you can move the chairs and sit together in a circle. Be creative—maybe try a cafe, library or a hackerspace? Ensure there is Internet, power and good lighting. And don't forget snacks!

Consider who to invite

Invite people with diverse skills. Talk to participants beforehand about what they're interested in making and what motivates them.

Give yourself enough time to promote your event. Consider making an event invitation and spreading the word to local communities.

This detailed agenda template explains the ins and outs of facilitating an event, and can help you plan your hackjam.

Get to know your participants

Welcome the group and invite them to introduce themselves. You can do a quick go-around in a circle and afterward try this fun icebreaker, the Spectrogram:

Reserve time for setting up

Get everyone to set up Persona and their Badge Backpack. Set up note-taking using collaborative tools like etherpad.

Allow participants to hack your agenda

In small groups, brainstorm what you want to make. Consider who the target users of your project will be. Write out as many ideas as you want on post-its. Summarize each idea in simple language.

Cluster ideas and build teams

Invite everyone to post their ideas on a wall. Facilitate the group to cluster related posts. Discuss emerging trends and categories. Have people write their name next to projects they want to work on. You can do all of this and more with this Mini Maker Scrum Activity.

Hack in Small Groups

Form small groups based on the participants' chosen projects. Adjust group sizes as needed; 5 people or less is best. Float around to make sure each group is on track. You can guide them by remixing this activity to be relevant to your topics: Collaborative Mindmapping.

Make Something

Prompt the groups to draw, write and code as much as they can. Don't let tech troubles distract you. Paper is just as useful for prototyping as code, and drawing just as fun. You can use activities like Remix Context with Popcorn Maker to quickly develop ideas:

Share what you made

Ask the groups to wrap up and prepare the room for presentations. Invite each group to share what they made. Reflect on the event, the projects and what everyone would like to do next.

Celebrate!

Publish notes about the event where participants can find it, and add to it, after the event. Then do something fun together! Grab a drink or something to eat together. Go bowling. Take a silly photo and share it with #makerparty.

Share with the World!

Collect the things you've made and write a quick blog post about your event. You can hack this guide to document your event by adding photos, text and links. Once you've documented everything, share your story with the Webmaker community.

Plan your next event

Send a follow up email to your participants and ask them what they thought of your event. You might also ask if they would like to collaborate on another event.