Working with tiny Surface Mount parts is challenging but can be done in the comfort of your own home. With a bit of effort, and a lot of experimentation, I've figured out one way to do this successfully. You can check out my process here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Extreme_Surface_Mount_Soldering/
Since this process uses ATtiny2313 to control the hotplate and uses Eagle to create the circuit boards, it seems to dovetail nicely with Dorkbot interests. Now that Laen is leading the way in fabricating circuit boards and Don is teaching the use of Eagle, there's no reason we shouldn't be using surface mount technology. The workshop could include topics from my Instructable such as surface mount board design; surface mount soldering using solder paste, a stencil, and a hotplate; and related topics.
Would fellow Dorkbots be interested in such a seminar?