If you've found your way here after cutting out a spectrometer from a magazine, welcome! 

## Introduction

This introductory kit (also [available here](https://store.publiclab.org/collections/spectrometry), and [more info here](/wiki/foldable-spec)) has been co-designed by hundreds of contributors as an entry point to Public Lab's [collection of Do-It-Yourself spectrometry projects](/wiki/spectrometry). 

It's not the most robust design, or the most precise. But it's specifically for **newcomers to get started on** -- a stepping stone on the way to bigger and better DIY designs like the [Desktop Spectrometry Starter Kit](/wiki/dssk) and many more. This broader initiative is still actively under development by thousands of people coordinating their work across the open Public Lab community! Read more about our [challenges we're tackling](), as well as the [limitations and goals](https://publiclab.org/wiki/desktop-spectrometry-kit-3-0#Limitations+&+Goals) of our designs. 

## About Public Lab


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## Get started

If you've already cut out your spectrometer, and are ready to jump right in, 

<a href="/n/13076" class="btn btn-lg btn-primary">Click here to start assembling it</a>

Then circle back to the activities listed below. 

## Goals

The first thing we're looking for help with is [refining this new version](/n/13076) of the foldable spectrometer design. We're hoping it'll be stronger, easier, and more intuitive to use, as well as easier to duplicate (you can just copy it onto stiff paper with a laser printer/copier). 

To try out the new design and provide feedback, please leave a comment on the assembly instructions above, or [ask a question on this page](#Questions)

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## Getting started

Before tackling a bigger project, here are some introductory activities geared at helping you build a spectrometer, troubleshoot it, and upload data for comparison:

[activities:foldable-spec]

## Activities

These are more advanced activities for after you've gotten up and running with the [starter activities above](#Getting+started). 

[activities:spectrometry]

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## Questions

[questions:spectrometry-turbidity]


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## Beer's Law

Beer's Law determines the relationship between opacity and concentration. According to Beer's Law, if you double the concentration of a liquid, you should see double the opacity -- that is, it'll be twice as dark when you shine light through it. Here's some work people have shared to demonstrate this:

[notes:beers-law]

These may be relevant to some of the challenges on this page. 

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## Challenges

[questions:spectrometry-challenge]