### What is a Barnraising? [1]: https://publiclab.org/wiki/barnraising-florida-2022 A Barnraising is an event hosted by the Public Lab community. In the spirit of bringing a community together to collectively raise a structure such as a barn, Barnraising participants come together to test environmental monitoring tools in the field, brainstorm new research projects, share about environmental concerns, and develop strategies to address them. At the event, with the support of facilitators, people collectively set the agenda, and participate and collaborate rather than just present, talk at, and listen. People attending a Barnraising can expect to: improve social ties through in-person collaboration, participate in deep exploration of local environmental issues and ongoing community research, advance technical knowledge, and work with hands-on projects for local environmental monitoring and documenting new monitoring methods. ## Host a Barnraising See our [Host a Barnraising](/barnraising-host) page to find more resources on hosting your own Barnraising event. **** ### Past Barnraisings: * [2019 Barnraising: Galveston & Houston, USA](https://publiclab.org/wiki/barnraising-texas-2019) * [2018 Barnraising: Guangzhou, China](https://publiclab.org/wiki/barnraising-guangzhou-china) * [2018 Crisis Convening & Barnraising, Newark, New Jersey](/barnraising-newark-2018) * [2017 Barnraising: Cocodrie, Louisiana](https://publiclab.org/wiki/barnraising-2017) * [2017 Appalachia Barnraising](https://publiclab.org/wiki/appalachia-barnraising-2017) * [2016 Barnraising: Cocodrie, Louisiana](wiki/barnraising-2016) * [2016 Regional Barnraising, Val Verde, CA](https://publiclab.org/wiki/barnraising-val-verde-ca) * [2015 Barnraising: Cocodrie, Louisiana](/wiki/barnraising-2015) * [2015 Midwest Regional Barnraising: Chicago, Illinois](/wiki/2015-regional-barnraising) * [2014 Barnrasing: Cocodrie, Louisiana](/wiki/barnraising-2014) * [2014 Northeast Regional Barnraising: Plymouth, Massachusetts](/wiki/barnraising-northeast-2014) * [2013 Barnraising: New Orleans, Louisiana](/wiki/barnraising-2013) * [2012 Barnraising: Cocodrie, Louisiana](/wiki/barnraising-2012) * [2011 Barnraising: Asheville, North Carolina](/wiki/barnraising-2011) [](//i.publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/016/690/original/The_Barnraiser_--_Regional_Special_Issue_2016.jpg) [](/i/29579) [](/i/29580) ...
| Author | Comment | Last activity | Moderation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| warren | "Agreed! And the new Basic Microscope Kit is a great low-cost way to get a microscope running -- should ultimately be under $100 for even 100x, and ..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| GlennShipley | "Microscopes and microscopy are a fascinating introduction to many fields of science, and there are very good standard, introductory microscopes ava..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| kgradow1 | "If you want to organize an integrated event, it's important to brief the other adults and remind them that what they're doing should be accessible ..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| Parsamparham | "Like " | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| kgradow1 | "My favorite form of on-the-go documentation are the small science zines, which we've used to document stuff at Parts and Crafts as well as (very oc..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| zengirl2 | "@gretchengehrke will know about the nail polish remover. Unfortunately my nail polish remover is not the standard fare since it is made for the lig..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| zengirl2 | "Done @warren :) " | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| warren | "Is nail polish remover just acetone, and is it pure enough for this? (Except for non-acetone nail polish remover, of course) https://www.amazon.c..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| warren | "I was wondering if sheets could be nailed into a wooden plate. It does seem like it would be ideal for the sheets to be flat, so we can more easil..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| warren | "This is really cool. Thanks for sharing this, Leslie! " | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| zengirl2 | "TY for this answer. I'm giving out copper strips at the Factory Farm Summit and hopefully people will be able to share results with us! " | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| gretchengehrke | "Hi @warren, "miscible" means it dissolves with them to create a homogenous mixture (i.e. doesn't separate out like oil and water do). Acetone is a ..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| warren | "Hi, Gretchen, what does "miscible with water and with oil" mean? Is it related to what @matej and others learned about the ability to dissolve oil ..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| gretchengehrke | "@Zengirl2, I think for the best results you'll want to use acetone, which is easy to find online and in a lot of drug stores and art stores (and ma..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| warren | "Hi, gretchen - the photos are great. Do you have a list of Amazon links and prices you could add -- as a step in getting a prototyping kit together..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| gretchengehrke | "Here are before and after photos. We did not expect (and did not observe) any discoloration since we were only putting them out for less than 24 ho..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| gretchengehrke | "Here is a picture after sanding one of the little copper strips. The green pad is actually soft sandpaper / polishing paper. " | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| gretchengehrke | "Here is a picture of cutting the copper sheet into strips. " | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| gretchengehrke | "Hi @warren, Thanks for the reminder to add pictures. I have tried inserting photos a few times today, but it keeps crashing the edit (and, seemingl..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| warren | "And if there are any photos of these steps, i'd love to help make diagrams to illustrate the process! " | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| warren | "Hi! Do you have photos you can attach for what the copper should look like before/after H2S exposure? Or after any possible false positives? " | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| zengirl2 | "@gretchengehrke OK, ty for the response. Sounds like I need to check manufacturers about the copper tape to see how pure it is. Also, I was thinkin..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| gretchengehrke | "Hi @Zengirl2, I'm not sure about the copper strips. Whatever copper is used needs to be fairly pure, and I'm not sure if the copper tape is pure c..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago | |||
| zengirl2 | "@gretchengehrke Do you know if copper tape can be used? I'm considering giving testers out at the Factory Farm Summit mounted on cardboard. Also, s..." | Read more » | over 6 years ago |