durhammakers & shakers
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Surprise me · something worth crossing into
Open project

Plant Sentinel

Horticulture × electronics × data. Turn plant observations into a low-cost sensing prototype.

NEEDS: ELECTRONICSNEEDS: SOFTWARE
Get involved →
A student exchange for ideas, projects + making

WHAT ARE
YOU INTO?

Bring a skill, a curiosity, a half-idea, a problem you noticed — or just the urge to make something with people outside your field.

Cross fields
Spin · match · see what happens
Horticulture
Electronics
Horticulture × Electronics · sensing + growing
Could a plant tell you what it needs before you can see it?
Paralegal
Graphic Design
Paralegal × Graphic Design · legal clarity
Could a legal process make sense at first glance?
Animal Care
AI
Animal Care × AI · behaviour + patterns
Could subtle animal stress be noticed earlier?
Culinary
Graphic Design
Culinary × Graphic Design · food + packaging
Could a local favourite become impossible to miss on a grocery shelf?
PSW
Product Design
PSW × Product Design · aging + accessibility
What everyday object gets easier when care experience shapes the design?
Cybersecurity
Business
Cybersecurity × Business · resilience
Could a small business test its digital risk before something goes wrong?
Early Childhood
Electronics
Early Childhood × Electronics · learning + interaction
What could an interactive toy teach without needing a screen?
Carpentry
Horticulture
Carpentry × Horticulture · structures + growing
Could a tiny space become a modular growing system?
Animation
Paralegal
Animation × Paralegal · explanation + law
Could motion make a confusing legal process understandable in sixty seconds?
Esthetics
Graphic Design
Esthetics × Graphic Design · nail art + visual systems
What happens when nail art becomes a repeatable design system?
Video Production
Environmental
Video Production × Environmental · public storytelling
Could a local environmental issue become impossible to ignore?
Food & Farming
Business
Food & Farming × Business · small-batch to retail
What would it take to move a small-batch idea onto a real shelf?
9-1-1 Emergency and Call Centre CommunicationsAccountingAddictions and Mental HealthAdvertising and Marketing CommunicationsAnimal CareAnimation – Digital ProductionApplied Data AnalyticsArchitectural TechnologyArtificial IntelligenceAutism and Behavioural SciencesAutomotive TechnicianBiomedical Engineering TechnologyBusinessCarpentryChemical Engineering TechnologyChild and Youth CareCivil EngineeringCloud and Information Technology SystemsCommunicative Disorders AssistantComputer ProgrammingComputer Systems TechnicianCosmetic Techniques and ManagementCrane Operation and RiggingCulinary ManagementCulinary SkillsCybersecurityEarly Childhood EducationElectric Drive Vehicle TechnicianElectrical EngineeringElectromechanical Engineering TechnologyEmergency ServicesEntrepreneurship and Small BusinessEnvironmental TechnicianEsthetician – Spa ManagementEvent PlanningFinanceFine ArtsFire Prevention and TechnologyGame ArtGas TechnicianGeneral Arts and ScienceGraphic DesignHVACMechanical EngineeringMusic BusinessNursingOccupational Therapist Assistant / Physiotherapist AssistantOffice AdministrationParalegalParamedicPolice FoundationsPractical NursingProject ManagementProtection, Security and InvestigationRecreation TherapySocial Service WorkerSport AdministrationSport Business ManagementSupply Chain and OperationsTrades FundamentalsVideo ProductionWeb DevelopmentWelding EngineeringAmerican Sign LanguageBookkeepingBuilding Environmental Systems Operator
Animal careNotices behaviour
ElectronicsSenses signals
AIFinds patterns
DesignMakes it usable
durhamX bee moving between fields
Cross-pollinate

A thought gets better when it travels.

A question, skill or perspective can move farther when it crosses into another field.

Explore open problems
What could we make?

START WITH A POSSIBILITY.

Some are active. Some are open ideas. Some are examples of what happens when different fields collide.

Dental tray prototype
Sample crossing

A dental tray that’s harder to get wrong.

Dental Assisting × Graphic Design × Fabrication

See the project board →
Open idea

Nail art, reimagined.

Esthetics × Graphic Design × Digital Fabrication × AI × Business. Think custom masks and decals, Cricut-cut elements, AI-assisted pattern ideation, 3D-printed organizers or displays, photography and branding.

I know something about this →
Connection

From Surat to a student prototype.

Surat, Gujarat is one of India’s major textile manufacturing centres. What could a student designer or entrepreneur do with a real connection into materials, sampling, production, quality and sourcing there?

Explore the connection →
Open idea

Can a local favourite make the freezer aisle?

Food × product development × packaging design × business. Explore mutton rolls, butter-chicken rolls or vegetable patties through freezing, reheating, packaging, food safety, labelling and retail economics.

I can help with this →
Find your people

OUTSIDE YOUR FIELD IS THE POINT.

Find people by what they know, what they’re learning, what they’re into and what they want to make — not by résumé.

Find people
Knows

Photography · branding · esthetics

Learning: business systems. Wants: someone into fabrication or booking tools.

Into

Plants · sensors · weird machines

Knows: propagation. Learning: electronics. Wants: someone who can code.

Explore

WHAT COULD YOU MAKE HERE?

Start with what you want to make, test, grow, film, measure or figure out. Then find programs, labs, tools, expertise and outside connections that might help.

MAKE

CAD, prototyping, machining, welding, 3D printing, fabrication, construction.

DESIGN

Graphic design, branding, packaging, illustration, motion, visual systems, product concepts.

IMMERSE

AR/VR, game art, animation, 3D environments, motion capture, virtual production, sound.

COMPUTE

AI, data, software, cloud, cybersecurity, automation and connected systems.

GROW + EAT

Horticulture, greenhouse systems, culinary, food product development and preservation.

LAUNCH + CONNECT

Business, marketing, suppliers, manufacturers, trade contacts, alumni and industry connections.

Explore the full map
Makers & shakers

MAKE SOMETHING. CHANGE SOMETHING.

Products, services, public problems, campus life — not every project ends with an object.

Civic lab

One decision. Plain language.

Take a real municipal, provincial or federal decision affecting students. Find the source, who decides, what changes, and how students can participate.

Local challenge

Turn public problems into student briefs.

Transit, housing, accessibility, waste, food security, public space — potential routes into CityStudio Durham and other civic partnerships.

Buzz · stories / features / blog / vlog

THE MESSY MIDDLE.

Build logs, experiments, wrong turns, field notes, interviews and quick videos from things being made around durhamX.

Build log

Prototype 1 broke. Prototype 2 taught us why.

A project diary should make failure useful instead of hiding it.

3-minute video

What is actually inside this lab?

Students show other students what a place can do — and what the access rules really are.

Person

What do you know that your program name doesn’t tell us?

Short interviews about unusual skills, obsessions and projects.

A crossing that just happened
MO

Marcus O.

AI & Machine Learning

“I want to train a model on plant stress data. I need observations I can actually trust.”
SA

Sarah A.

Horticulture

“I can see plant stress early. I have field observations — I just don’t know how to make them useful at scale.”
Swarm formed →Plant Stress SensingOpen · looking for someone who can wire a sensor
Get involved →
Upcoming sessions

COME MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN.

THUSep 18

Intro to Prototyping — No Experience Needed

Open to all programs

Workshop
THUSep 25

Ramp Redesign Open Session

Trades · Nursing · Design — looking for more

Swarm
FRIOct 3

Problem Posting Night — What Are You Noticing?

Open to all — bring an observation

Session
SATOct 18

Campus Plant Walk

Horticulture · Culinary · Anyone curious

Tour
Join durhamX

JOIN THE CLUB.

Meet people. Share something. Make something.

Join →