1. Practice makes perfect. Practice your materials and remember facilitation is key. Get a friend to run through your materials with you.
    
2. Make every attempt humanly possible to define the space as interactive. Move chairs into a circle. Set up design centers or stations so people can easily move about within the space. Break up the space as much as possible.
    
3. Gather Materials For group sessions and other brainstorming collaboration, the following are strongly recommended:
   1. Computers. If you don't have the means to provide computers, make sure  participants know to bring their own! Make sure Firefox, Chrome, or Safari browsers are installed.
   2. “Post-it” notes, in multiple colors and sizes 
   3.  Flip-chart pads, with “Post-it” sticky backing if the budget permits 
   4.  Colored markers and pens 
   5.  Easels with clips to hold up flip-charts 
   6.  Masking tape
       
4. Complete the IT checklist and make sure everything is in proper working order. Want a print out? Download the IT Checklist as a PDF!
   1. Know Your Tech Contact There's likely someone at the meeting space that takes care of that building/office/restaurant's wifi/Internet. Find out who that person is, and talk to them about your event. Make sure that the space will have a stable enough Internet connection for the number of participants expected. If you have to set up your own wifi and/or power, see this awesome checklist from David Wolever.
       
   2. Providing Hardware  Have laptops or PCs available for participants or teams of  participants. If you don't have the means to provide hardware, make sure  participants know to bring their own! If you do have a space with computers, install the most up-to-date version of Firefox, Chrome or Safari on the computers.
       
   3. Install Bookmarklets If you're using Hackasaurus curriculum, check that the Goggles bookmarklet can be installed and works in your setup. If possible, pre-install the bookmarklet on all the computers to save time during the event.
       
   4. Projector Set up a projector to a computer so that you can demo things  on a screen that everyone can see and participants can share their work.
       
   5. USB Backups (to deal with firewalls) You can run Firefox and the Hackasaurus Goggles off of a USB stick too: http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox_portable Check that this works on the computers though, as some places have firewalls that restrict the use of external devices.

Create a video, screencast, or blog post detailing your practice session. What happened? What was unexpected? Comment on one of your peers attempts.

Show and tell your peers what you gathered and how you set up your space. Pics or it didn't happen!

We know you were frustrated at least once during this IT check. Did you throw anything or did you just rant? Tell your peers what made this hard, and comment on two of their posts with a sympathetic tone.