The Spring Break Way

A roundup of 71 North updates

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71 NORTH
March 10, 2026

The Spring Break Way

Happy spring break, everyone! We hope that during this week you can decompress from midterms and enjoyself. Engaging in creative and passionate projects of your choosing is a perfect way to stay innovative while relaxing this week. Figers crossed, the weather will cooperate as well, and you can enjoy some time outside. Once we’re back from break, we’ll have plenty to look forward to for the rest of the semester. Stay tuned!

❝

“A lot of people deal with things that are bad. Once you’ve been through something, you grow from it and you take a lot in. You can always turn it into something positive.”

- Chino Moreno

Looking Ahead:

Northern Exposure is back on Friday, March 20th! Join us and Laurence Lurio, Phd, for What Can Physics Tell Us About Biomaterials?

We are excited to host our upcoming 71 North Demo Day!

Demo Day is an opportunity to showcase current projects, prototypes, experiments, and ideas. This event is about sharing progress, gathering feedback, and discovering new opportunities for collaboration.

All projects from the studio are welcome, including:
• Huskieverse and XR Development
• Startup Ideas and Prototypes
• Open Source Contributions
• Design/Creative Work
• Research Projects
• Technical Builds and Experiments

Presentations will be 3–5 minutes long and will be followed by a brief Q&A with the audience.

We encouraged you to present, regardless of your project's current stage. Demo Day will be a great opportunity to test ideas, ask for help, and find collaborators!

If you would like to present your work, please submit your demo ahead of the event [registration form].

We hope to see many of you there as we celebrate the creativity and collaboration happening at 71 North Partnership Studio and NIU.

Save the Date!

Are you passionate about creating positive change in your community? Do you have innovative ideas that could make a real difference? Join us for Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK) NIU 2026 where students, faculty, and community members come together to solve real-world challenges faced at Northern Illinois University. In Spring 2026, we are tackling food insecurity at NIU. RHoK NIU will host Clinical Assistant Professor of Nutrition and founder of Huskie Harvest Dr. Nancy Prange, Assistant Director of Edible Campus Laura Fehling, and Dean of Students Dr. Kelly Olson. Organizations like Huskie Harvest, Edible Campus, and the Huskie Food Pantry provide free food to NIU students in need, but like any nonprofit initiative, they faces ongoing challenges such as managing inventory, engaging volunteers, student experience, stigmas, and minimal donations. That's where YOU come in!

Event Dates: 3.31.25 and 4.07.25 (5:00-7:00pm) 

Register Here and make a difference!

RHoK Structure: 

  • Part 1: Problem Scoping and Ideation- Identify key challenges our partner faces and select one to develop over two weeks.

  • Part 2: Proposal and Presentation- Finalize and present actionable solutions for the challenges.

Why Participate?

  • Solve meaningful, real-world challenges.

  • Collaborate with like-minded changemakers.

  • Gain valuable hands-on experience.

  • Impact the NIU community.

We need your ideas and creativity! Let’s come together to hack for kindness and improve the lives of students at NIU.

For more information, you can go to The Random Hack Website

Monday:

2:00-3:00 PM: Innovation Pages, Leaders Eat Last - Facilitator: Jordan York

4:30-6:30 PM: HuskieHackers - Embark on coding adventures.

Take a moment to review 71 North on Google Maps