Early preview. We are building this in the open. The list is still growing, so some groups are missing and some details may be out of date.
woodworking, makerspaces, coding, ham radio
69 groups so far
Narrow these down by cost, days and more
Student group
Penn's computer graphics student group for people into animation, games, visual effects, and graphics. It holds portfolio and demo reel nights, alumni masterclasses, and workshops.
Last active date not known yet
Student group
Penn students who design, build and fly drones and other unmanned aircraft. The team enters contests such as SAE Aero Design and the IARC robotics competition.
Last active date not known yet
Student group
A Penn student community for aerospace engineers and enthusiasts, with project teams that build high-powered rockets, high-altitude balloons, aircraft, and jet engines.
Last seen active: April 2025
Nonprofit 路 University Southwest
A Philadelphia nonprofit that offers community services, including immigration and legal help, health checks, workforce and construction training, digital skills classes, and youth workshops.
Last seen active: October 2026
Student group
A student AI community at Penn for people interested in machine learning, computer vision, and related AI topics. It runs talks, coding contests, hands-on projects, startup help, and recruiting events.
Last seen active: September 2026
Student group
A student group for undergraduate, graduate and MBA students who want to learn about blockchain, crypto and Web3. It works with partners on education and research, and sends committee members to conferences and hackathons.
Last seen active: March 2026
Nonprofit
A community for people who build software in Philadelphia. Members meet for weekly coding sessions to work on problems side by side, and the group runs a hackathon every quarter.
Last seen active: September 2026
Neighborhood or civic group 路 Online
Volunteers who build free, open source tools that help the public in Philadelphia. The group keeps a directory of projects where people can find a place to help.
Last active date not known yet
Nonprofit 路 University Southwest
Nonprofit that teaches free tech workshops to students in grades 6 to 12, from first lines of code to building a startup idea.
Last seen active: October 2026
Nonprofit 路 Lower Southwest
A nonprofit that teaches basic computer and online skills at no cost and passes donated computers to people who need them.
Last active date not known yet
Student group
The computer science student society at Penn, founded in 1991. It runs social events, interview prep panels, and hackjams for CS students.
Last seen active: September 2018
Nonprofit 路 Upper North
A career training nonprofit for people with limited access to jobs. Participants take a 24 week set of skills modules in construction-related skills, computer literacy, project management and entrepreneurship, then can join optional team projects.
Last active date not known yet
Network or meetup
A community of data science and analytics people in Philadelphia. It hosts talks, hands-on workshops, and panel discussions on topics such as AI, big data, and statistical modeling, and welcomes beginners.
Last seen active: October 2025
Club
The Philadelphia DEF CON group for security and hacking fans. It runs show and tell nights, open houses, workshops and capture the flag games, mostly at local venues.
Last active date not known yet
Student group
Penn students who build drones as a team and learn engineering, coding, and electronics along the way.
Last active date not known yet
Student group
Penn engineering students who design, build, and test an electric race car for the Formula SAE Electric competition.
Last active date not known yet
Student group
A Penn student group that links students from many fields to the wider global AI community. It also connects AI work with industry and investors.
Last active date not known yet
Nonprofit 路 University Southwest
Runs Greentool, an online tool for finding products, services, and companies that help or harm the environment. Volunteers research and edit its data through an online portal.
Last active date not known yet
Student group
The Penn chapter of a student-run nonprofit that builds software for other nonprofits and groups working on social good.
Last active date not known yet
Neighborhood or civic group 路 Central
A volunteer group for the Hawthorne neighborhood in South Philadelphia. It works on safety, zoning, parks and street trees, and youth and adult computer classes, and it holds open community meetings for neighbors.
Last seen active: October 2026
Nonprofit 路 River Wards
A makerspace in Kensington where people build and learn with woodworking tools, electronics, laser cutters and 3D printers. Anyone can drop in on a Sunday open house to try the space.
Last seen active: January 2026
Club 路 North Delaware
A ham radio club that meets monthly, runs a weekly radio net, and supports public service radio work for the Philadelphia area.
Last seen active: July 2026
Nonprofit 路 Lower Northeast
An adult literacy center that supports immigrants' inclusion in American society. It teaches English and basic computer use, and it takes volunteer tutors and new students through a phone line and online forms.
Last seen active: September 2025
Nonprofit 路 Central
A museum at 211 S. Columbus Blvd with historic ships and boats. Its docent program trains volunteers to lead tours of the museum and its ships, but it is not taking new applications right now.
Last active date not known yet
Nonprofit 路 University Southwest
A media and storytelling group whose Love Lab hosts public events on art, dialogue and AI education, and whose Poet's Press publishes poetry and commentary.
Last seen active: October 2026
Student group
A student team that builds a Mars style robot rover for the University Rover Challenge. Subteams cover electronics, drive systems, the robot arm, software, science, and business.
Last active date not known yet
Student group
A Penn student group that runs monthly hands-on workshops introducing the Penn community to materials science. Past workshops have covered glass, candles, paper, and metal casting.
Last active date not known yet
Nonprofit 路 Lower Southwest
A nonprofit that gives computers to children from low-income families so they can do schoolwork and learn about technology. It also promotes education and training in struggling communities.
Last active date not known yet
Nonprofit
A museum about art made from wood, going by its name. Its site blocked our visit, so nothing else about it is confirmed.
Last active date not known yet
Club
A North Philadelphia makerspace with laser cutters, 3D printers, woodshops, metal and sewing tools, and electronics benches. Free tours and public events let you look around before you join.
Last seen active: October 2026
Nonprofit 路 West Park
Supports Black leaders in mapping and GIS. It runs mentorship, scholarships, events and an annual conference that help more Black people build geospatial careers.
Last seen active: November 2025
Program
Offers culture-focused training that prepares college students for user experience (UX) design jobs, and connects employers with diverse candidates. The UX portfolio program is closed for now.
Last active date not known yet
Student group
A student team of software engineers, product designers and business builders who make free technology for the Penn community. They also offer educational resources and tech support.
Last active date not known yet
Student group
A student group that runs PennApps, a coding hackathon that started in 2009. Teams of students build software projects during the event.
Last active date not known yet
Network or meetup 路 Online
Volunteer ham radio operators who provide emergency communications for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Red Cross, run radio nets, and train for disaster response.
Last seen active: October 2025
Nonprofit 路 Upper Northwest
A woodworking school in Philadelphia that teaches furniture making through project classes, short tool courses and beginner courses. Classes are small and taught by experienced furniture makers.
Last seen active: June 2026
Club 路 Online
The Philadelphia area Linux user group. Its site lists three meeting areas (Central, North and West), an IRC chat room and announcement mailing lists.
Last seen active: November 2015
Club
Python programmers who meet to hear talks and work on projects together. The group paused during the pandemic and restarted in May 2026 with a meetup at the University of Pennsylvania.
Last seen active: May 2026
Network or meetup
A local group for people who use Red Hat and open source tools. Members get together for talks and hands-on sessions, as part of Red Hat's user group program.
Last seen active: October 2026
Program 路 Lower Northwest
A woodshop in Philadelphia where beginners and experienced woodworkers take classes, use the shop with a membership, and send kids to workshops and summer camps.
Last seen active: October 2026
Club
A monthly public meetup for people interested in technology and computer security. Attendees can use a pseudonym, and bringing friends is welcome.
Last active date not known yet
Network or meetup 路 Online
A Philadelphia community for people interested in artificial intelligence and machine learning. It runs talks, speaker sessions, workshops, and networking, and welcomes volunteers and speakers.
Last seen active: May 2026
Program 路 West
Free, volunteer-led coding clubs for young people ages 7 to 17. Sessions meet on Zoom on Saturday mornings, and kids choose what to build while learning from each other and from mentors.
Last seen active: September 2026
Network or meetup
Volunteers who build free, community-run Wi-Fi in North Philadelphia. They put antennas on rooftops and in homes so neighbors can get online.
Last seen active: July 2025
Network or meetup
Volunteers who fix broken household items for neighbors at free Repair Fairs around the city. You bring the item, and a volunteer works through the fix with you.
Last seen active: October 2026
Club
An indie game making group in Philadelphia that welcomes hobbyists, students and pros. It runs playtest nights, game jams and workshops, announced through its newsletter.
Last seen active: November 2025
Club
Philadelphia developers who work with JavaScript and the web. Most months they meet at Indy Hall for short talks, hack nights, and project showcases.
Last seen active: September 2026
Nonprofit 路 West
A nonprofit that helps women of color build coding and tech career skills. It runs beginner workshops, career talks, and mentoring circles.
Last active date not known yet
Network or meetup 路 Online
Hobbyists who build and run Meshtastic and MeshCore radio nodes across the Philadelphia area, and who share how-to guides for newcomers. They also experiment with AREDN mesh networks.
Last seen active: September 2026
Program
A City of Philadelphia volunteer program that helps residents build online skills, like applying for jobs online and getting in touch with family. Volunteers work in libraries, rec center computer labs and community sites.
Last seen active: March 2026
Program 路 Lower North
A free three-week class for adults at Project HOME's learning center in North Philadelphia. Students learn Logic Pro, a professional music recording program.
Last seen active: October 2026
Nonprofit
An education nonprofit that builds learning tools and makerspaces for K to 12 students. Its West Philadelphia makerspaces serve middle and high school students, and it is planning an online platform for school clubs.
Last active date not known yet
Student group
A Penn student club for quantum information science, open to all undergraduate and graduate students regardless of experience. It runs open-source quantum projects, hackathons, lab tours, and industry talks.
Last active date not known yet
Student group
A student club for people who make content or want to learn social media and digital marketing, with guest speakers and creator events.
Last seen active: September 2026
Club 路 Lower Northwest
A car club serving Roxborough and nearby neighborhoods, with summer cruise nights and car shows open to all makes and models, plus monthly member meetings.
Last seen active: August 2026
Nonprofit 路 University Southwest
A Philadelphia media arts center that teaches video, sound, film and digital media workshops, rents production gear to people who can show they know how to use it, and runs community video projects. Members get discounts on programs and equipment rental.
Last seen active: October 2026
Student group
A student group that applies data analysis to sports performance. Members work on basketball, baseball and strength and conditioning, building models and visual reports for coaching staffs.
Last active date not known yet
Program 路 North Delaware
A community art center in Tacony that is a program of Mural Arts Philadelphia, run in partnership with the local city council office. It offers free art classes, an open studio, and a Saturday kids club.
Last seen active: October 2026
Nonprofit 路 Upper North
A nonprofit that offers free tech help, especially to older adults: a free helpline, in-person discussion groups, a newsletter, a TV show and a podcast.
Last seen active: October 2026
Nonprofit 路 University Southwest
A nonprofit that works with young people on skills, character, and mentoring. Its programs include auto technician training, photography, fitness, a lifestyle course, and a music and engineering class. It has also run book bag drives and food giveaways for people experiencing homelessness.
Last seen active: August 2023
Nonprofit 路 Lower North
A Philadelphia nonprofit that brings youth and adults into designing and building play spaces, public amenities and neighborhood improvements.
Last active date not known yet
Student group
The amateur radio club at Penn, founded in 1909 as the Wireless Club. It teaches radio and points members who want a license to study resources and exam sessions.
Last seen active: October 2025
Student group
Penn's game development club. Members make a club game each semester, host game jams and workshops, and bring in speakers from the games industry.
Last seen active: February 2025
Nonprofit 路 River Wards
A nonprofit motorcycle shop where veterans and at-risk young people learn engine repair and trade skills, with basic skills classes in resume writing and leadership.
Last active date not known yet
Nonprofit 路 West Park
A nonprofit that works to transform education for Philadelphia students through paid digital marketing and cybersecurity pre-apprenticeships. Adults can volunteer, join a committee, or mentor.
Last seen active: October 2026
Student group
A hub for Wharton students who want to learn, build, and talk about AI, data science, and business analytics. Members join workshops, hackathons, speaker events, and small group dinners.
Last active date not known yet
Student group
Penn undergraduates who want to get better at data work can join training programs, speaker events and committees that run the club's events and education.
Last active date not known yet
Nonprofit 路 University Southwest
A Philadelphia nonprofit, founded in 2021, that runs media and animation studios and a free after-school digital media lab. A math and building series is listed as coming soon.
Last active date not known yet
Student group
A Penn student group that supports women in tech through talks, workshops, mentoring and professional development. It also runs FemmeHacks, its hackathon, which draws more than 200 people a year.
Last active date not known yet
Includes: woodworking, makerspaces and tool libraries, electronics and robotics, coding and software, repair cafes and fixing things, cars and motorcycles, ham radio, digital skills and tech help.