According to President Ed Kalcza, Cambridge Hackspace was started in 2013 by Richard Hawthorne.

By Emily Blackwood

Hidden behind an alley adjacent to the bustling Market Basket on Somerville Avenue, sits Cambridge Hackspace; a place where people can come to stretch their creative muscles and see what they can make.

Much like the I Spy books we picked through as kids, there’s a lot to look at in the Cambridge Hackspace headquarters. An overwhelming collection of woodworking tools hangs on the wall by the entrance door. A large papier-mâché hand hangs from the ceiling that members say was left over from the artists who had the space before them.

And there’s a large traffic light tucked by the storage boxes in the back. That was found on the side of the road by a Hackspace member, and they were going to see what they could do with it tonight.

“It was thrown out somewhere,” said Ed Kalcza, Hackspace president, as he toyed with a tongue depressor he had attempted to laser-cut into a movable wooden box. “We’re putting in a LED matrix in place of the lightbulb to display text and stuff. People are gonna come in and see what they can do.”

That’s the general idea for most of the Project Nights at Cambridge Hackspace, taking place at 6:30 p.m. every Tuesday. Members come in, sometimes bringing random items they’ve collected, and see what they can make.

Everything from weather displays to custom electronics are created in the warehouse Hackspace has made their home. One of their members, Harnek Gulati, has even raised over $75,000 on Kickstarter for his project made at Hackspace: a wooden word watch.

“It’s a place for people to share knowledge about making things,” Kalcza said. “It’s open to everyone.”

For a monthly fee of $75, members have 24/7 access to space and its tools, which include two laser cutters, three 3D printers and dozens of other gadgets and gizmos. The next Project Night is at 6:30 p.m., March 20, and is open to everyone.

Cambridge Hackspace is located at 438 Somerville Avenue, Somerville. For more information, visit www.cambridgehackspace.com.