Fremont’s inaugural Fixit Clinic is happening this Friday, October 31, at the Fremont Main Library. For those unfamiliar with the Fixit Clinic, it’s a free, all-ages, do-it-together gathering where families can bring their broken household items for assessment, disassembly, and possible repair. Most of us are under the impression that modern consumer electronics are unrepairable, yet Fixit Clinics boast a 70 percent repair success rate. Fixit Clinics reverse the powerlessness a consumer feels when an electronic item stops working. By asking participants to work on their own items and help others, Fixit Clinics spread a “you can do it” attitude and impart valuable troubleshooting skills throughout the community. Even when something isn’t fixed, participants learn plenty about how it worked, and how it was manufactured.

October’s Fixit Clinic in Fremont is sponsored by StopWaste as part of Fremont’s MakerEd Initiative and is organized by the Fremont Unified School District. Fixit skills are the onramp to “making” skills. By fostering critical thinking, troubleshooting, intergenerational, and interdisciplinary skill-sharing between K-12 students, adults, municipal government, and businesses, Fixit Clinics are an integral part of building a vibrant and active maker culture in Fremont.

Fixit Clinics are only possible with support of volunteer “Fixit Coaches” who help other participants through their disassembly and troubleshooting. Fremont needs a pool of local Fixit Coaches on hand to hold regular Fixit Clinic events. Perhaps the most important skill required for coaches is encouraging people that it’s really OK to open up their broken things. (What do you have to lose anyway? It’s already broken.) And, while our Fixit Clinics specialize in electronic items, we’d like to repair textiles and fabric items too. If you can sew, we’d be thrilled to have you as a Fixit Coach!

Get an adrenaline rush on Halloween by fixing your dead, broken, and crippled appliances at the Fixit Clinic at the Fremont Main Library. Skeletal details are below!

WHAT: Fixit Clinic CXXV (125)
WHO: All ages welcome, a family-friendly event
WHEN: Saturday, October 31, 2015 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. (Halloween)
WHERE: Fremont Main Library, 2400 Stevenson Blvd.
COST: Free!
HOW: Register at http://goo.gl/qTzh9J

  • Bring your broken item (carry-in only: no oversize items)
  • Bring parts and tools that might be helpful
  • Come ready to describe what’s wrong and what you’ve tried
  • Come ready to share what you know with others

See event links:
Google+: https://plus.google.com/events/cildprnl2204toag3lutknqr7fs
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/927442500662120/

VOLUNTEER: Be a Fixit Coach: sign up at www.fixitclinic.org