The National Archives is holding its first ever hack day. (We think it might be the first one to be actually held inside a UK government department. But we could be wrong.)

We want to work with developers who share our interests in history, government and culture to devise and build systems using our records as well as datasets from across the web. Or to use a more technical term, build cool stuff.

We hold millions of documents covering almost a millennium of world history: everything from the Domesday Book and Cabinet Papers to the UK Government Web Archive and our Legislation API.

We'll have records experts from the Archives on hand together with colleagues from the British Museum, British Library and Wikimedia UK to talk about their data and to pitch ideas.

If you're not a coder - don't worry. We're also interested in paper prototyping, ontologies - even playdoh if you really want (as long as you keep it a long way from the documents). It's a weekend of making things.

Join us for challenges, jelly babies, manuscripts, public information films and pizza. But not necessarily in that order.

Programme

Saturday 24^th March

2pm Introductions

2.20pm The Data – 10 minute presentations from the National Archives and guests.

3.30pm Challenges – Up to 5 minute pitches outlining a specific problem (open to anyone)

4pm Workshop and Surgery – Time to buttonhole data ‘owners’, form teams and share ideas

5pm Start hacking.

7.30pm Pizza

8pm-whenever More Hacking

Sunday 25^th March

10am Breakfast muffins

1pm Lunch

3pm Deadline to register hacks

4pm Presenting hacks, judging and prizes

6pm Pub

Data

http://labs.nationalarchives.gov.uk/wordpress/index.php/2012/02/datasets-for-hack-day-hack-on-the-record/

http://labs.nationalarchives.gov.uk/wordpress/index.php/2011/07/datasets/

Hashtag

#hackon12

Registration

All attendees are asked to bring some photo ID (driving licence, passport) for registration.