Maker Thursday is a weekly, community driven gathering at TinkerSpace where people connect, share, and build.
From 2026 onwards, every session should have a short journal entry, usually written by the host.
Maker Thursday is a weekly community gathering, but the conversations, demos, and learnings should not end when the session ends.
By documenting each Maker Thursday, we:
- Keep a clear log of what was discussed and built
- Help members who could not attend stay updated
- Make it easy for new members to understand the community’s direction
- Create a shared reference for ideas, projects, and follow ups
- Build a long term archive of our maker journey
These short journal entries are not meant to be detailed reports. They are lightweight snapshots of each session, written so that any community member can quickly read, catch up, and continue the conversation.
- Set up MkDocs Material on your computer
- Run the site locally
- Add a new journal post using the template
- Push changes and raise a pull request
First, you need setup the computer to run the mkdocs locally.
- Install Python and pip - follow the guide here
- Install MkDocs - follow the guide here.
- Install Git - follow the guide here
1) Fork the repository
2) Clone your fork
git clone https://github.com/<your-username>/makerthursday.git
cd makerthursday
3) Start the local dev server
Run this from the folder that contains mkdocs.yml:
mkdocs serve
MkDocs will serve the site locally (usually on http://127.0.0.1:8000/)
The site journal is powered by the Material blog feature (you can see it live at /blog/)
1) Create a new branch
git checkout -b add-makerthursday-journal-YYYY-MM-DD
2) Add a new post file
Follow the existing pattern in the repository for where posts live.
docs/blog/posts/YYYY-MM-DD-title.md
3) Add front matter
Add metadata for your Journal post,
---
title: 'MakerThursday 0xXX: Name for the Maker Thursday'
date: YYYY-MM-DD
authors: [autor]
slug: maker-thursday-0xXX
description: >
A Small Description
---
If this is your first time contributing, please add your details to the authors file before submitting your post.
open the file docs/blog/authors.yml and add new entry
author-username:
name: Author Full Name
description: Author tag line
avatar: https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/xxxxxxxx
url: Tinkerhub App profile URL
In the avatar section, replace the xxxxxxx to your github profile id.
Use this template inside your post:
---
title: 'MakerThursday 0xXX: Name for the Maker Thursday'
date: YYYY-MM-DD
authors: [autor]
slug: maker-thursday-0xXX
description: >
A Small Description
---
## Overview
Write 3 to 6 lines on what happened this week. Mention the theme and the general vibe.
## Topics
- Topic 1
- Topic 2
- Topic 3
## Project Presentation
- Name – project title (one line summary if needed)
- Name – project title
## Photos
### Group photo
### Activity photo
## Highlights
- One key takeaway (learning, decision, win, or community moment)
## Next Week
- Topic: TBD
- Host: TBD
- Keep filenames simple and consistent.
- Store images in the same place the repo already uses for images.
- Always add meaningful alt text.
While mkdocs serve is running, open the local site and check:
- The post appears in the journal list.
- Images load.
- Headings look correct and spacing is clean.
1) Commit and push to your fork
git add .
git commit -m "Add Maker Thursday journal for YYYY-MM-DD"
git push -u origin add-makerthursday-journal-YYYY-MM-DD
2) Create a pull request to upstream
On GitHub, open your fork and you should see a prompt to create a PR. GitHub’s flow for PRs from forks is documented here
PR checklist:
- Title includes the date and session name.
- Post follows the minimum structure.
- Photos included or clearly marked pending.
- Previewed locally.
Suggested style (keep it consistent)
- Prefer short paragraphs and bullet lists.
- Avoid long intros.
- Name people and projects clearly (credit matters).
- If something is TBD, write “TBD” instead of leaving it blank.
