23 Baltimore meetup groups where technologists get connected

For anyone looking to meet other technologists and learn about what others are building, meetup groups are a key entry point.
Whether it’s a programming language or a project at a makerspace, Baltimore’s community offers plenty of places to tap into tech trends. Meetup organizers will be gathering at Technical.ly Baltimore’s Super Meetup on July 26 at Baltimore Studios.
To help figure out where to jump in, we took a look at the largest and most active meetup groups in the area. It’s not only about who has the most Meetup members (though that helps). Here’s our list, in no particular order:
Data Science MD 

• With past topics ranging from social networks to neural networks to baseball, Data Science MD has plenty of interesting talks.

GirlDevelopIt Baltimore 

• With Code & Coffee sessions and other special events, the three-year-old Baltimore chapter of this national organization is all about providing a supportive environment for women who are learning and building tech.

Baltimore Python Meetup

• With sessions held on the third Wednesday of each month and Code at the Cafe events for networking, this meetup offers plenty of chances for Python programmers to stay connected.

Baltimore Techies for Good

• These technologists are looking to help nonprofits so they can do the most good for the community. They have a mix of tutorials, sessions to get questions answered and give back hacks.

Bmore on Rails

• The Ruby community in Baltimore is strong. With a mix of lightning talks, hack nights and pub nights, Bmore on Rails is a key spot to meet the Baltimore tech community and find out what’s being built here. The group also organizes the Workshop for Women, which brings together women who are learning to code.

BaltoMSDN

• The monthly meeting of Microsoft developers serves as a place to find out what Microsoft is releasing, and wider tech topics. Past talks on IoT and blockchain caught our eye.

Unallocated Space

• This Severn makerspace runs everything from LAN parties to lockpicking nights. And they’ve got classes. There was also a Fire Tornado.

TechBreakfast

• Demoing at TechBreakfast is a key point in the founding story of many a Baltimore startup. The monthly morning meeting at DLA Piper’s offices in Mt. Washington started in Baltimore, and there are TechBreakfast events in many cities.

CharmCityJS

• On the first Wednesday of the month, the Javascript community gets together for talks and networking. They’re on a tour of Baltimore tech spots this summer.

Digital Harbor Foundation

• The tech access nonprofit’s Federal Hill tech center is a hive of activity for Baltimore makers, whether they’re hosting make nights for families or showing off what youth in the FabSlam program created. Occasionally, luminaries like Adam Savage stop by.

Agile Baltimore

• Over Lean Coffee, members of this meetup gather and build an agenda on-the-spot. It’s designed to spur unique ideas.

Baltimore Women in Computing 

• Members of the Baltimore chapter of the Association of Women in Computing founded this meetup, which is a gathering point for women in technology. Along with timely topical talks, events include brunches and book talks.

Code for Baltimore

• Since launching earlier this year, this civic focused chapter of Code for America has quickly grown. The group mixes hack nights and community talks to work on tech projects that help the city.

Baltimore EdTech Meetup

• Baltimore is a hotbed for education technology, and this monthly gathering is a chance to meet some of the startups and innovators in the space.

Baltimore Hackerspace

• Whether it’s learning a programming language or soldering, open hack nights at this makerspace offer a chance to learn.

Baltimore Puppet User Group

• In this context, puppet is a software configuration tool, not a figure that you control and voice for entertainment. The group meets every month.

Baltimore UX Meetup

• This well-attended meetup has talks on plenty of hot topics like election data and voice interfaces. They also dive deep with fishbowl-style sessions. Events are held at Betamore.

Baltimore Drupal Meetup

• Drupal developers dig deep at this meetup. With meetings often taking place at Bertha’s Restaurant in Fells Point, the ambience is noteworthy, as well.

Baltimore Node

• With hack nights and classes, this makerspace has one of the more active meetup pages in Baltimore. The Pew-Pew Pewsday lasercutter class is certainly one of the better names on the monthly calendar.

Baltimore PHP Meetup

• Organizers revived the Columbia chapter of the decade-old group in 2017 with looks at IoT and Firebase, among other topics.

Baltimore WordPress Group

• Members of this meetup have been gathering to talk about the content management system since 2010. Wordcamp Baltimore is a big annual gathering point.

Baltimore MongoDB Users Group

• A key resource for the leading NoSQL database program.

Baltimore Clojure Meetup

• Developers who use this dialect of the Lisp programming language get together every month for talks. They’re marking the calendar for Clojure/Conj in Baltimore this fall.