Helping hands needed to make warm, comforting quilts! Only basic skills needed. Do you know how to use a sewing machine, iron, or rotary cutter? This is not a quilting class, but we will guide you along through the whole process of making twin and crib size quilts for those in need in our area.

Our space is reserved from 2pm to 7pm, but please come when it is convenient for you, even if you can only spare an hour. 

Sponsorship: All materials are provided thanks to a generous donation from a local quilter. The Home Depot is supporting this program by providing storage containers to manage the quilting materials. Thank you to Mascoma Bank for sponsoring studio space for this project.

About the Instructor(s): Michelle Goldsmith has been sewing since she was eight and quilting since she was eighteen. She has experimented with many different sewing, quilting and mixed media techniques. Michelle has had many pieces of her work in shows and juried exhibits.

Class Fees: Free! Please volunteer your time to help this worthy cause.

Materials Fee: None

Prerequisite(s): Sewing experience helpful, but not necessary

Skill Level: All

Age requirement: Youth + Adult (15 years of age and older)

Helping hands needed to make warm, comforting quilts! Only basic skills needed. Do you know how to use a sewing machine, iron, or rotary cutter? This is not a quilting class, but we will guide you along through the whole process of making twin and crib size quilts for those in need in our area.

Our space is reserved from 2pm to 7pm, but please come when it is convenient for you, even if you can only spare an hour. 

Sponsorship: All materials are provided thanks to a generous donation from a local quilter. The Home Depot is supporting this program by providing storage containers to manage the quilting materials. Thank you to Mascoma Bank for sponsoring studio space for this project.

About the Instructor(s): Michelle Goldsmith has been sewing since she was eight and quilting since she was eighteen. She has experimented with many different sewing, quilting and mixed media techniques. Michelle has had many pieces of her work in shows and juried exhibits.

Class Fees: Free! Please volunteer your time to help this worthy cause.

Materials Fee: None

Prerequisite(s): Sewing experience helpful, but not necessary

Skill Level: All

Age requirement: Youth + Adult (15 years of age and older)

This workshop will help guide beginners and experienced woodworkers alike through the process of making an 18 x 12 x 2 inch end-grain cutting board out of beautiful hardwoods (choices will include maple, purpleheart, walnut, and padauk).  End-grain boards are beautiful, better for your knives and durable.  Your creation will surely become a useful and attractive feature of your kitchen for years to come.

About the Instructor(s): Peter Gunn is a former teacher who loves working with wood from trees to the table.  A decade ago he began taking woodworking courses and has been practicing steadily ever since.  He loves working on the lathe and with the jointer and planer to reveal the beauty of wood and make useful things.  During the holidays in 2020, when Covid altered so much of our world, he began making cutting/serving boards to raise money for local food pantries. Over four years and three hundred boards later, he is excited to share his knowledge.  He hopes people will enjoy making something uniquely beautiful and growing their skills and self-confidence in the process.

Class Fees: $200 members/ $230 non-members

Materials Fee: $75 (included in the class fee)

Prerequisite(s): none

Skill Level: beginner

Age requirement: Children under 16 years of age must be accompanied by their adult

Class full but still interested? Or can’t make the dates above? Use the form below to let us know and we will reach out!

Class Interest and Waiting List

Stick welding is the entry level technique to all other welding skills. Whether you’re a beginner, an artist looking for a different medium or just wanting to learn a new skill, this is the place to start!

You will learn the basics of welding safety, how to strike an arc, how to start making the bead on a flat piece of steel and how to continue to strike an arc and carry it to form the bead.

Students should bring to class: Safety glasses, leather boots, and leather gloves.

About the Instructor(s): Sheldon Heselton has an A.S. in Welding Technology from Manchester Community Technical College and he is a certified welding inspector through the American Welding Society. His experience is mostly in stick welding, but he can weld in multiple processes and he does ultrasonic weld testing and magnetic particle weld testing. Sheldon has worked on power plant construction sites, and also inspections for welded bridges and other components at welding shops.

Class Fees: $110 members / $120 non-members

Materials Fee: $10 included in the class fee

Prerequisite(s): none

Skill Level: beginner

Age requirement: Youth and Adult (15 years and older)

W1CMS is proud to host Twin State Radio Club’s testing session. This is an opportunity to get your Technician license or upgrade from Technician to General or from General to Extra.

The doors open at 9:30 a.m. for registration, and testing begins at 10:00. In preparation, be sure to read and follow the instructions from ARRL, https://www.arrl.org/what-to-bring-to-an-exam-session. Drop-ins are OK, but it would be helpful to know who is planning to attend.

If you or someone you know is interested, contact kb1vun@arrl.net.

In this class, we’ll learn how to use the Tinkercad software to create miniature 3D-printed lanterns. You’ll learn how to work with dimensions and measurements to create a precise design. You can design almost anything in Tinkercad, but we’ll be designing a tiny lantern that hangs from a keychain (and fits a little LED light). We will also be printing them!

If you have a laptop, bring it, and make sure you bring a mouse (3D design is a lot easier using a mouse than a trackpad). No laptop? Use one of the Claremont MakerSpace’s machines. (Please confirm your laptop can meet the following browser, platform, and hardware requirements:

Hardware:

Most laptops purchased within the last 6 years should work well with Tinkercad. There is one strict requirement that the graphics card supports webGL. WebGL enables working in 3D in the browser. If you are not sure that your graphics card supports webGL, visit this page to see if you see a spinning cube:

https://get.webgl.org/

Operating Systems that are known to work well with Tinkercad:

Microsoft Windows 10
Apple MacOS High Sierra 10.13.2 or later
Google Chrome OS on Chromebooks

Browsers that work best with Tinkercad:

Google Chrome version 50 (or newer)
Safari 13 (or newer)
Microsoft Edge (Chromium)

About the Instructor(s): In addition to being the Digital Fabrication and Electronics Shop Lead at Claremont MakerSpace, Tiffany Vincent is a maker, designer, and programmer with a deep love for all things DIY.

Class Fees: $45 members / $60 non-members

Materials Fee: $5 (Included in class fee)

Prerequisite(s): Participants in this class should have basic computer navigation skills before joining.

Skill Level: Beginner

Age requirement: Ages 8 to 12

Class full but still interested? Or can’t make the dates above? Use the form below to let us know and we will reach out!

Class Interest and Waiting List

The Claremont MakerSpace is excited to announce emerging photographer Jeff Dietrich is the winter Artist in Residence!  His photographs explore the intertwined perceptions of our ‘built’ and ‘natural’ worlds, highlighting the intricacy and aesthetics of their design. Recurring themes of Jeff’s work include the juxtaposition of order and entropy–finding moments where meticulously designed and constructed forms linger on with signs of breakdown or with unexpected irregularity–and highlighting the innumerable human acts of making that have been hidden amid the scale of our creations. Put another way, he tries to carry his camera whenever he goes somewhere interesting, and is constantly finding that means going nowhere without it.

Come meet Jeff, see some of his prior work, and learn about his residency plans this winter. His current project explores the experience of remaking the world through memorial and deliberate evolution. The photographs and writings–captured during two years of travels in his father’s footsteps following his unexpected death–explore the intimate connection between loss and finding, seeking moments of rebuilding and transformation within a universally shared (and unfathomably solitary) dislocation. 

During Jeff’s residency, he will be making this digital collection physical–playing with wood/metal/textile materiality, digital fabrication, and manipulation of the prints themselves, to create a second layer of meaning and connection between the photographs beyond traditional frame-and-mat gallery presentation. Jeff will also be starting a photography club and teaching.

While at CMS, take a tour and learn about our seven work spaces:

• Wood shop: with all the necessary large and small tools for woodworking, plus a CNC Router
• Jewelry studio: covers tools needed for shaping, texturing, enameling and soldering
• Metal shop:  everything needed for working with metal, cutting, shaping, MIG, TIG and Stick welding, plasma cutting
• Fiber arts studio:  sewing machines, mid-arm quilter, looms, textile dyeing area, Cricut cutter and an embroidery machine
• Electronics lab:  provides tools for small electronics, 3D printers, a laser cutter, and a trinocular microscope
• Computer lab: large format printer and new photography print options
• Machine shop:  metrology tools, two manual mills, metal lathe, grinder and a CNC mill 

All shops will be open for tours and members/staff will be on hand to answer your questions.  

Everyone is welcome and this event is FREE, with light refreshments available. There is plenty of parking next door in the municipal parking garage. Registration is requested but not required. 

Open to all ages, children under 16 years old must be accompanied by their adult.

Machine embroidery is a fun way to add embellishment to plain ready to wear garments and handmade items. You can create gift items, clothing, ornaments and many useful household items. I will show you how to select a design to be placed on a thumb drive. Also cover the different stabilizers used and how to set up the hoop with materials for embroidery. Then how to use the machine to embroider your item. 

About the Instructor(s): Tammy has been machine embroidering for 10+ years. She has enjoyed being a crafter for most of her life. Her hobbies include sewing, quilting, and anything involving wool fiber. She has been teaching knitting, crochet and needle felting for the past 15 years. She has also taught sewing for three years. Tammy is retired and lives in Springfield, Vt. with her husband and two dogs.

Class Fees: $50.00 for members/$60 for non-members

Materials Fee: $10 NOT included above, please be sure to bring cash with you on the day of class

Prerequisite(s): None

Skill Level: Beginner and Intermediate

Age requirement: Youth and adults (ages 15 and older)

A serger, often referred to as an overlock, is a specialized sewing machine that finishes raw edges of fabric to prevent them from fraying. They’re commonly used to finish and reinforce seams, hem clothing, and more.

In this beginner-level workshop, users will learn how to safely operate the MakerSpace’s ELNA Pro 5 DC serger and there will be several other machines available to see and practice on. We’ll explore the factory presets and explore the basics, including threading, how the cutting blade works, and how to adjust the machine correctly. Come learn how to operate the serger and discover how you can put it to use for your next project!

Supplies and materials will be provided for the class.

Note: Participants of this workshop will have the opportunity to get certified to use the MakerSpace’s sergers on their own.

About the Instructor(s): Ann Campbell has been sewing since she was 6 years old. She made Barbie clothes! She has also been sewing with the Claremont MakerSpace since it opened. She’s had a few classes in sewing and was actually able to wear the results.

Class Fees: $10 Members/ $20 Non-members

Materials Fee: None. Plenty of scraps and fabric to practice with (or bring your own)

Prerequisite(s): none

Skill Level: Beginner

Age requirement: 13 and up (13 – 16 years-old need a parent partner)

*This listing is for the morning session only, click here to register for the afternoon session: February Vacation “Stories in Art” Camp*

Looking for a creative way to keep your kids engaged during February vacation? Join us at Claremont MakerSpace for our fun-filled Arts and Crafts Vacation Camp, running from Monday, February 24 to Friday, February 28, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM each day!

Designed for kids ages 8-12, this camp will spark creativity and imagination as participants explore a new craft or activity every day. From hands-on projects to unique artistic expressions, kids will have a blast learning and creating in a supportive, engaging environment.

• Cost: $175 for members’ kids, $195 for non-members
• What to Bring: A nut-free snack and water bottle

Spaces are limited, so register today to secure your child’s spot in this exciting vacation adventure!

About the Instructor(s): Tammy has been machine embroidering for 10+ years. She has enjoyed being a crafter for most of her life. Her hobbies include sewing, quilting, and anything involving wool fiber. She has been teaching knitting, crochet and needle felting for the past 15 years. She has also taught sewing for three years. Tammy is retired and lives in Springfield, Vt. with her husband and two dogs.

Class Fees: $175 for member’s kids (or grandkids), $195 for non-members

Materials Fee: $25 included in the class fee

Age requirement: 8-12 years old

Interested in other kid or family friendly classes? Use the form below and let us know!

Class Interest and Waiting List

*This listing is for the afternoon session only, click here to register for the morning session: February Vacation Arts and Crafts Camp*

Looking for a creative way to keep your kids engaged during February vacation? Join us at Claremont MakerSpace for our fun-filled “Stories in Art” Vacation Camp, running from Monday, February 24 to Friday, February 28, from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM each day!

Designed for kids ages 7-12, if you look closely, art often has a story or hidden message. In this camp campers will look at great works of art and develop a keen eye for seeing some of the underlying secret codes and stories. They’ll listen to the cultural myths that have inspired great works of art, and do storytelling exercises and role playing. All this will lead to the creation of their own artwork that tells a story or has an important message to share.

• Cost: $175 for members’ kids, $195 for non-members
• What to Bring: A nut-free snack and water bottle

Spaces are limited, so register today to secure your child’s spot in this exciting vacation adventure!

Class Fees: $175 for member’s kids (or grandkids), $195 for non-members

Materials Fee: $35 included in the class fee

Age requirement: 7-12 years old

About the Instructor(s): 

Allison Zito has been the shop lead in the Fibers Department at Claremont MakerSpace since 2018. Allison majored in Fibers and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of the Arts. Her artwork has been exhibited in numerous museums including The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, The Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, MA, The Delaware Art Museum, The Pennsylvania State Museum in Harrisburg, and The Philadelphia Museum of Art. Allison has decades of teaching experience, having taught a variety of classes at The Philadelphia Museum of Art, at Harcum College in Bryn Mawr, PA, and at the University of Pennsylvania Morris Arboretum. She has taught Studio Art in the Upper Valley at AVA Gallery and Art Center, Craftstudies at Hanover League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, ArtisTree, and Claremont Maker Space with stunning results. Allison Zito was awarded The Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 for her work as an artist and art educator. In 2019 Allison was awarded an Artist in Residency at The Claremont Maker Space. There she created an art installation addressing the issue of Global Warming and she organized a symposium on site, to inspire positive action within the greater community. Allison created two local public art murals in 2021, one for The Sullivan County Conservation District in Unity and Allison created the Bee and the Monarch Medallions on the Lebanon Art Tunnel Way Pollinator Mural. Creating beautiful art in an effort to open a conversation that can inspire hope and action for a better world. This the cornerstone of Allison’s work as an artist and art educator.

Thinking about trying out MIG welding? This is an introductory workshop in learning, safety, tools and techniques in MIG welding. No experience required.

Must provide your own safety glasses, leather work shoes and leather gloves. Helmets, jackets and materials will be provided. 

Students will:
. Learn about safety in the metal shop and welding studio
. Learn about MIG welding equipment and materials to be used
. Use the MIG welding equipment to spot weld, draw a bead and join two prices of metal

About the Instructors: Jo Ann Clifford is a Master Teacher and Metal Artist. She has been creating metal Art in her home studio and at The Claremont Maker Space for several years. She is a past Artist In Residence at CMS and has shown her work regionally. She loves to teach and inspire others to try something new in a fun and supportive environment.

Class Fees: $65 members, $75 non-members.

Materials Fee: $10 included in class fee

Prerequisite: none

Skill Level: beginner

Age Requirement: Adults only (18 years and above)

In this two-class session you will learn how to make a simple bezel setting for a round or oval cabochon stone (you can choose between red jasper and tiger’s eye!). After crafting the setting, students will affix it to a silver band ring that they will also learn how to make in this class. After taking this class, students should walk out the door with a finished silver ring with a bezel set stone and the basic skill set to bezel set stones in the future.

This class is intended both for students who would like to learn the fundamentals of setting cabochons and for students who would just like to come make their own beautiful piece of jewelry for themselves or as a gift. Although no experience is necessary, it will be beneficial to have taken a silver ring class in the past.

Monday, February 24th, 6-8:30 PM AND

Monday, March 3rd, 6-8:30 PM

About the Instructor(s):  Theodore is a jeweler and commercial fisherman from Homer, Alaska. He got his start in metal work taking welding classes in high school, but discovered jewelry making when he attended Dartmouth college and began working at the school’s Jewelry studio, falling in love immediately. That was over three years ago now, and Theodore has since graduated from Dartmouth and is doing jewelry work in the Upper Valley area and teaching classes here in Claremont. Theodore’s specialties in jewelry lie in fabricating unconventional forms and metal overlay work, as well as a japanese metalsmithing technique called mokume gane. 

Class Fees: $160 for Members/$170 for Non-Members

Materials Fee: $15 included in the class fee

What Students Should Bring With Them to Class: Closed toed shoes and hair-ties if needed

Prerequisite(s): None but some silversmithing experience could be helpful!

Skill Level: Beginner/Intermediate

Age requirement: Adults only (18 and up)

Class full but still interested? Or can’t make the dates above? Use the form below to let us know and we will reach out!

Class Interest and Waiting List

This first meet up is for members only, but we hope to open it up to the public next time!

Join us for an evening of community, inspiration, and collaboration at our first photography open meetup!

Our first, members-only gathering will be dedicated to meeting each other and brainstorming what this group will do together. My starting vision for future classes & meetings includes guided photo critiques, topic-specific knowledge sharing, themed shooting challenges, and gear show & tells, among others, and hopefully more ideas from you all!

For tonight, just be ready to go around the table to introduce yourself and share your relationship to photography — no gatekeeping here, we don’t care if you’ve shot A-listers for Vogue or only use the camera we all carry in our pockets. Feel free to bring a few of your favorite photos—printed or digital by emailing them to me jeff at jeff-dietrich.com beforehand—or just yourself.

Then, I’ll lead the group through an open brainstorm about other activities and ideas for the club. Looking forward to meeting you all!

About the Instructor(s): Jeff Dietrich is the Winter 2025 Artist in Residence at CMS. He is an emerging art photographer (as well as a writer; wanderer; community engagement professional; historian of frontiers, wilderness, and civilization in US history; and general-purpose dabbler). His photographs explore the intertwined perceptions of our ‘built’ and ‘natural’ worlds, highlighting the intricacy and aesthetics of their design to celebrate the endless journey of iteration and reconstruction that suffuses what we build and what we’ve borrowed. Recurring themes of Jeff’s work include the juxtaposition of order and entropy–finding moments where meticulously designed & constructed forms linger on with signs of breakdown or with unexpected irregularity–and highlighting the innumerable human acts of making that have been hidden amid the scale of our creations. Put another way, he tries to carry his camera whenever he goes somewhere interesting and is constantly finding that means going nowhere without it.

Class Fees: Free for Members

Prerequisite(s): None

Skill Level: All

Age requirement: Ages 16 an up

Class full but still interested? Or can’t make the dates above? Use the form below to let us know and we will reach out!

Class Interest and Waiting List

Come celebrate the color and joy of Mardi Gras with collage artist/art journalist/art quilter Debi A Barton. Debi will be returning from a week-long solo artist residency (and Carnival parades weekend) in New Orleans the week prior to class, maybe with some fun Mardi Gras swag to share! Class will begin with a discussion of collage basics (techniques, substrates, adhesives, resources, etc.) and will include a stash of collage supplies for each participant to take home. The remainder of class time will be creative time ~ each participant will have access to plenty of materials to create one or more collages to take home.

Class Fees: $20 members/ $30 non-members

Materials Fee: $5 included in the class fee

Bring to Class: Students may bring favorite paper ephemera (magazine cutouts, memorabilia, etc) and/or a favorite non-messy glue medium if they would like, but this is optional.

Prerequisite(s): None

Skill Level: All levels, anyone interested in a fun creative evening

Age requirement: Youth + Adult (15 years and older)

About the Instructor(s): Debi A Barton (Haverly) is an analog collagist, art journaler, art quilter and denim upcycler, occasional writer and random photographer, based in Bellows Falls, Vermont. Her life and creative work are most influenced by a lifelong love of travel, deep woods and mountains, as well as outsider art.

Debi’s collage-based art journals have most recently been featured in Art Journaling magazine (January 2019, July 2019, January 2020, July 2023). Her fabric art has been exhibited at the Beyond Gallery (formerly of Bennington, VT) and AVA Gallery (Lebanon, NH) (2020); her mixed media collage art in Bank Street Gallery at AVA (2022, 2024, 2025), Art Around Books (Bellows Falls, 2022), Canal Street Art Gallery (Bellows Falls, 2023, 2024), and essays with accompanying collage art in the book “Magic in the Modern World”.

Debi A Barton creates primarily with thrifted, deadstock, or otherwise abandoned materials that have stories yet to be told. Many of the materials she repurposes have “imperfections” that she sees as an integral part of those stories, inviting the viewer to imagine their histories and possibilities. Find @debi_a_barton on Instagram

Class full but still interested? Or can’t make the dates above? Use the form below to let us know and we will reach out!

Class Interest and Waiting List

Machine embroidery is a fun way to add embellishment to plain ready to wear garments and handmade items. You can create gift items, clothing, ornaments and many useful household items. I will show you how to select a design to be placed on a thumb drive. Also cover the different stabilizers used and how to set up the hoop with materials for embroidery. Then how to use the machine to embroider your item. 

About the Instructor(s): Tammy has been machine embroidering for 10+ years. She has enjoyed being a crafter for most of her life. Her hobbies include sewing, quilting, and anything involving wool fiber. She has been teaching knitting, crochet and needle felting for the past 15 years. She has also taught sewing for three years. Tammy is retired and lives in Springfield, Vt. with her husband and two dogs.

Class Fees: $50.00 for members/$60 for non-members

Materials Fee: $10 NOT included above, please be sure to bring cash with you on the day of class

Prerequisite(s): None

Skill Level: Beginner and Intermediate

Age requirement: Youth and adults (ages 15 and older)

This class will teach participants the techniques for effective and reliable soldering on printed circuit boards (PCBs).

Both surface mount and through-hole soldering techniques will be explained through videos and lecture and hands on experience will be completed using kits made for soldering skills.

These skills will be allow the student to assemble electronic kits or projects after completion of the course.

About the Instructor(s): William French has been soldering electronic circuits since je was in high school in the 1960s. Two of the courses that he taught at NHTI were “Senior Project Prep” and “Senior Design Project”, where the students designed their projects, created printed circuit boards and soldered electronic components onto those boards, debugged these Senior Projects and demonstrated the circuits in a formal presentation to faculty, hiring managers and peers.

This course at CMS would be essentially the same used at NHTI, where students with no soldering experience are able to create quality operational printed circuit boards.

Class Fees: $50 for members/$60 non-members

Materials Fee: $15 NOT included in the class fee, please bring cash with you!!

Prerequisite(s): None

Skill Level: Beginner – Anyone interested in soldering electronic components onto a printed circuit board including light wiring

Age requirement: Adults only (18 and up)

Class full but still interested? Or can’t make the dates above? Use the form below to let us know and we will reach out!

Class Interest and Waiting List

The Claremont MakerSpace has an Amateur Radio club! Before makers, hackers, and DIY, there was Amateur Radio. 

Join us on March 9th at 1 p.m. for our monthly meeting. You do not have to be a licensed ham to participate, just bring your curiosity and energy! Everyone is welcome! Each month, we feature a presenter (45 minutes to an hour), and after we adjourn to MakerSpace’s Digital Fabrication and Electronics Lab for open-time kit building, sharing, studying, and socializing.

This Month’s Presentation: Design of a Magnetic Loop Antenna
Bill French will discuss the design of a magnetic loop antenna. After his presentation, he will lead a DIY Workshop ($5 material fee) where we will construct a ladder line j-pole antenna.

Presented by:
Bill French has dedicated his life to electronics, communication, education, and community service. His journey began in high school with an interest in ham radio, though he only earned his Extra Class license in 2021, receiving the call sign AA1BF—’music to his ears’ in CW. Bill’s career includes service in the USAF as an Automatic Flight Control Systems Technician, earning BSEE and MSEE degrees, and three decades as a digital/computer engineer. Beyond his engineering career, Bill spent 27 years as a volunteer EMT with the Epsom Rescue Squad, serving from 1976 to 2003. After retiring in 2002, he became a professor at NHTI, teaching electronics and microprocessor courses for 16 years. Now retired, Bill is an active ham radio operator, Volunteer Examiner, and a builder of regenerative radios, QRP rigs, and microcontroller projects. His current pursuits also include 3D printing and fostering the art of CW communication.

What is Amateur Radio?

Amateur Radio (often called ham radio) is a popular hobby and service that brings people, electronics, and communication together. People use Amateur Radio to talk across town, around the world, or even into space, all without the Internet or cell phones. It’s fun, social, educational, and can be a lifeline during times of need.

How is Amateur Radio used?

Amateur Radio is used for a variety of recreational and service-related activities. Amateur Radio operators, also called “hams,” use Amateur Radio equipment to engage in two-way personal communications with other hams, as well as:

• Aid communication during public events, such as parades and road races
• Act as a vital communications link during emergencies and disasters
• Advance their technical skills and build their own radio components (ever wanted to talk to an astronaut in orbit?)
• Participate in competitive events and earn awards in contests

Who can become a ham?

Anyone of any age who is not a representative of a foreign government can be an Amateur Radio operator in the US. Before you can get on the air, you’ll need to be licensed and know the rules to operate legally. In the US there are three license classes — Technician, General, and Amateur Extra. The Claremont MakerSpace has resources and support available to help you learn and prepare to take your exam. 

You can learn more about amateur radio here: arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio