New Year, New Backpack: Jacobs’ Back-to-School Events Are Here
August 26, 2026
We look forward to welcoming both new and returning members of the campus design community to Jacobs Hall for the start of the Fall 2026 semester. You are cordially invited to join us at the back to school events below. All events below are held in-person!
DESIGN FAIR
Friday, August 28 ⋅ 6:00pm – 8:00pm ⋅ 310 Jacobs
RSVP
Berkeley Innovation invites you to the Berkeley Design Fair at Jacobs Hall. Meet UC Berkeley’s design organizations and clubs and get to know the extended creative community! Clubs and DeCals participating include Blueprint, Undergraduate Marketing Association, Invention Corps of Berkeley, DiversaTech, Web Development at Berkeley, ImagiCal, and Innovative Design. Jacobs Institute staff will be there to represent the Makerspace, the Berkeley Certificate for Design Innovation, Innovation Catalyst grant program and more.
JACOBS MAKERSPACE OPEN HOUSE & YEE COMMONS GRAND OPENING
Tuesday, September 15 ⋅ 12:00 – 3:00pm ⋅ Jacobs Hall, First Floor Makerspace
RSVP
Discover Jacobs Hall’s new Yee Commons patio area & explore UC Berkeley’s 8,000 sq. ft. design and prototyping hub at the Jacobs Hall Makerspace Open House! Meet staff and makers, explore equipment demos and project displays, and join in-depth tours at 12:15, 1:15, and 2:15 PM. Don’t miss Makerspace Bingo—you could win one of three FREE Maker Passes. This event is free and open to all UC Berkeley students, staff, and faculty.
DESIGN FIELD NOTES LECTURE SERIES
Tuesdays, 5:30-6:30PM ⋅ Jacobs Hall, Third Floor
SEE THE FULL LINEUP
Design Field Notes is an open-to-the-public talk series — AND course (DES INV 95) — exploring how design shapes technologies, futures, and the stories we tell about them. Hosted this semester by Floor van der Velde, the series brings in Bay Area creative luminaries shaping how we build, automate, and imagine what’s next.
This season: Josette Melchor (Newtemporary, Gray Area) on designing in the space between new and next; Kelsey Brennan (ThredUp) on found problems vs. made problems in product design; Shoshana Berger (Aged Intelligence Society, ex-IDEO/Notion) making the case for less life design; Matthew Carlson (Adobe) on growing start-ups inside big companies; Stefanie Hutka launching her book on human-centered automation; Andrew Hogan (Figma) on the new rules of design in the AI era; Catie Cuan (roboticist) on giving AI a robot body through choreorobotics; and Dawn Danby & David McConville (Spherical) on planetary repair and shared futures.
Eight speakers. Eight ways of thinking about culture, technology, and design colliding in real time.
Free and open to the public.
TECHNICAL CAMPUS MAKERSPACE CRAWL
Wednesday, September 16 ⋅ 12:00 – 1:30pm ⋅ Location varies
The event will begin at the west lobby entrance of Jacobs Hall
RSVP
If you are interested in joining the vibrant community of makers, designers, and tinkerers at UC Berkeley, then join us on one of our campus makerspace crawls! This crawl will visit more technical-based Makerspaces at UC Berkeley.
We will start at the Jacobs Hall Makerspace and continue to other campus spaces. See the unique resources offered at each location and learn how you can join the campus’s rich ecosystem of hands-on creativity. Bring your curiosity and comfortable walking shoes.
We will visit the following sites, in this order:
- Jacobs Makerspace (Jacobs Hall)
- Mechanical Engineering Student Machine Shop (Etcheverry Hall)
- Cory Student Workshop and Supernode (Cory Hall)
- College of Environmental Design Fabrication Lab (Bauer Wurster Hall)
Please review the Technical Campus Makerspace Crawl Route for a map of each space location and directions to each space. The group will spend ~10 minutes in each space. RSVP now!
CREATIVE CAMPUS MAKERSPACE CRAWL
Wednesday, September 23 ⋅ 12:00 – 1:30pm ⋅ Location varies
The event will begin at the west lobby entrance of Jacobs Hall
RSVP
If you are interested in joining the vibrant community of makers, designers, and tinkerers at UC Berkeley, then join us on one of our campus makerspace crawls! This crawl will visit more creative-based Makerspaces at UC Berkeley.
We will start at the Jacobs Hall Makerspace and continue to other campus spaces. See the unique resources offered at each location and learn how you can join the campus’s rich ecosystem of hands-on creativity. Bring your curiosity and comfortable walking shoes.
We will visit the following sites, in this order:
- Jacobs Makerspace (Jacobs Hall)
- UC Berkeley Library Makerspace (Doe Library)
- Berkeley Art Studio (Helen Diller Anchor House)
- Berkeley Art Studio & Creative Lab (MLK Jr Building, ASUC Student Union)
Please review the Creative Campus Makerspace Crawl Route for a map of each space location and directions to each space. The group will spend ~10 minutes in each space. RSVP now!
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