Public Lab Wiki documentation

Oil Testing Workshop

This post is a working document on the developing Oil Testing Kit Event Guide. I expect it to change and adapt as we refine our techniques. Please post comments and feedback.

Oil Testing Exploration Event

Resources Needed:

• 4 poster boards
• markers and pens
• sticky notes
• paper research notes
• one computer per 1-2 people (can work in teams)
• a power source that can support all your computers
• large clean space for people to build their kits (long tables work well)
• one Public Lab Oil Testing Kit (Spectrometer and Oil Testing Kit attachment) per team
• 7 cuvettes per team
• 1 uv laser per team
• 1 set of gloves per person
• 1 pair of protective glasses per person
• small stickers to label your samples
• swabs for the samples
• small glass jars for solid sample prep - only if you have solid samples, nail polish bottle size is perfect
• eye droppers, one for each sample
• mineral oil
• fluorescent light for spectrometer calibration
• paper towels
• a camera (to document)
• newspaper (to protect your table)
• bio jar for your used samples

Setting up the event:

1) Set your tables up near a power source that can be used by all the computers and line your table with the news paper.
2) Put up the poster board on the wall with the words “Notes, Questions and Ideas” and label them in order additionally with: Construct, Collect, Scan, Compare.
3) Put post-its, markers and pens on each table.
4) Put copies of the hand written research notes on each table for people to include more in depth information on what they explored.

Event Structure:

Introduce the Event:

1) Introduce yourself, why you are interested in this project and a little bit about Public Lab.
2) Emphasise that the tools, technology and event structure is currently being developed and that the outcomes of this event are to explore all three and make them better.
3) Identify that we will walk through how you would do this at each stage together.
4) Highlight the posters, markers and sticky pads available for people to put up their questions, comments, ideas and things they explored while they were there.
5) Introduce the concept of spectrometry for those who might be new to the idea. A useful explanation can be found on this page.

Walk through the stages of the process: (a more thorough walk through can be found on this page) The stages of the process include:

• Construction, (estimated 1 hour)
• Sample preparation, (estimated 30 minutes)
• Scan your samples, (10 minutes per sample)
• Compare your samples (30 minutes)
• Dispose.

You will now begin the process of building the kit and running the tests. Encourage participants to keep notes on what was hard to do or understand, any questions they have or ideas. These can be written on the paper research notes or on the sticky notes and put on the poster. You will review these after the workshop.

Stage one: Construction

Tools you will need:

• Spectrometer Kit per person or team,
• Oil testing kit add on per person or team and
• Computer.

Your attendees will need to build both the spectrometers and the oil testing add on pieces. These pieces will fit together and are your tools for oil testing.

1) Build the spectrometer: construction directions can be found on this wiki. Be sure to calibrate the spectrometer using a fluorescent light before adding on the oil testing piece.
2) Log in to Public Lab: To calibrate the spectrometer participants will need to use spectralworkbench.org. Make sure that each participant, or one person from each team has a Public Lab log-in and can access spectralworkbench.org
3) Calibrate the Spectrometer. Calibration directions can be found on this wiki.
4) Build the Oil Testing add-on: instructions can be found on this wiki.

Stage two: Sample Preparation

Tools you will need:

• pens,
• cuvettes,
• droppers,
• protective eye gear,
• gloves,
• samples,
• laser and
• mineral oil.
• if you’re working with hard samples you will also need swabs and sample jars.

Your sample preparation will depend on what state your sample is in (solid or liquid). For solid samples, here is a good walk through of sample preparation. You will then use your dropper to grab some of your dissolved samples to put into the testing cuvette. Be sure your sample is dissolved in the mineral oil enough to change the color of the oil. Once your sample is in this state, move on to liquid sample prep below.

For liquid sample prep you only need a few drops of your sample. Use a clean dropper to put enough drops in a cuvette to fill it just under half way. Put on your protective glasses on and shine it into the bottom half of the cuvette. If you can not see the laser beam in your sample, it is too dark and you will need to dilute it with the mineral oil until you can see the beam.

Label your sample in a way that you will be able to differentiate it later from others you scan.

At this point you can choose to prep all of your samples at once or begin scanning your first sample and return to sample prep with your others once this first one is uploaded on spectral workbench. Be sure to Keep your samples organized with labels Make sure that they do not turn fall over or turn upside down once they are in the cuvettes, they can leak.

Stage three: Scan your samples

Tools you will need:

• samples in cuvettes,
• computers,
• lasers,
• gloves and
• protective eye gear.

The cuvettes fit into the small hole in the oil testing add on. The laser will fit into the holder adjacent to where the cuvette is placed. Once these are aligned you may begin to scan your samples. good directions for scanning samples can be found on this wiki.

Stage four: Compare your samples.

Tools you will need:

• computer,
• pens and
• paper research notes

Once you have scanned your samples into spectral workbench, you can compare them to each other. There are good directions for walking through identifying unknown samples on this wiki.

Stage five: Dispose of your samples

Tools you will need:

• bio jar,
• gloves and
• samples.

Once you are finished scanning your samples into spectralworkbench and are satisfied with your data set, you should dispose of your samples in a safe way. Some suggestions for disposal can be found on this wiki.

Conclude:

Go over what people are exploring, review with everyone what people have posted on the boards or wrote on their research notes. Allow people to take the notes with them if they want to do an online write up, but be sure to photograph them first just in case! Be sure to thank everyone for coming and invite them to your next event!

After your event:

Take pictures of the posters. Scan in the hand written research notes that you collected. Document what you explored in your event in a Public Lab Research Note include your pictures. Don’t forget to tag it with the tags: #spectrometer, #workshop, #oil-response-toolkit, #oil-testing-kit

Notes by people who have run this event as it has developed:

• July 31, 2014 (New Orleans)

Oil Testing Workshop

This post is a working document on the developing Oil Testing Kit Event Guide. I expect it to change and adapt as we refine our techniques. Please post comments and feedback.

Oil Testing Exploration Event

Resources Needed:

• 4 poster boards
• markers and pens
• sticky notes
• paper research notes
• one computer per 1-2 people (can work in teams)
• a power source that can support all your computers
• large clean space for people to build their kits (long tables work well)
• one Public Lab Oil Testing Kit (Spectrometer and Oil Testing Kit attachment) per team
• 7 cuvettes per team
• 1 uv laser per team
• 1 set of gloves per person
• 1 pair of protective glasses per person
• small stickers to label your samples
• swabs for the samples
• small glass jars for solid sample prep - only if you have solid samples, nail polish bottle size is perfect
• eye droppers, one for each sample
• mineral oil
• fluorescent light for spectrometer calibration
• paper towels
• a camera (to document)
• newspaper (to protect your table)
• bio jar for your used samples

Setting up the event:

1) Set your tables up near a power source that can be used by all the computers and line your table with the news paper.
2) Put up the poster board on the wall with the words “Notes, Questions and Ideas” and label them in order additionally with: Construct, Collect, Scan, Compare.
3) Put post-its, markers and pens on each table.
4) Put copies of the hand written research notes on each table for people to include more in depth information on what they explored.

Event Structure:

Introduce the Event:

1) Introduce yourself, why you are interested in this project and a little bit about Public Lab.
2) Emphasise that the tools, technology and event structure is currently being developed and that the outcomes of this event are to explore all three and make them better.
3) Identify that we will walk through how you would do this at each stage together.
4) Highlight the posters, markers and sticky pads available for people to put up their questions, comments, ideas and things they explored while they were there.
5) Introduce the concept of spectrometry for those who might be new to the idea. A useful explanation can be found on this page.

Walk through the stages of the process: (a more thorough walk through can be found on this page) The stages of the process include:

• Construction, (estimated 1 hour)
• Sample preparation, (estimated 30 minutes)
• Scan your samples, (10 minutes per sample)
• Compare your samples (30 minutes)
• Dispose.

You will now begin the process of building the kit and running the tests. Encourage participants to keep notes on what was hard to do or understand, any questions they have or ideas. These can be written on the paper research notes or on the sticky notes and put on the poster. You will review these after the workshop.

Stage one: Construction

Tools you will need:

• Spectrometer Kit per person or team,
• Oil testing kit add on per person or team and
• Computer.

Your attendees will need to build both the spectrometers and the oil testing add on pieces. These pieces will fit together and are your tools for oil testing.

1) Build the spectrometer: construction directions can be found on this wiki.
Be sure to calibrate the spectrometer using a fluorescent light before adding on the oil testing piece. 2) Log in to Public Lab: To calibrate the spectrometer participants will need to use spectralworkbench.org. Make sure that each participant, or one person from each team has a Public Lab log-in and can access spectralworkbench.org
3) Calibrate the Spectrometer. Calibration directions can be found on this wiki.
4) Build the Oil Testing add-on: instructions can be found on this wiki.

Stage two: Sample Preparation

Tools you will need:

• pens,
• cuvettes,
• droppers,
• protective eye gear,
• gloves,
• samples,
• laser and
• mineral oil.
• if you’re working with hard samples you will also need swabs and sample jars.

Your sample preparation will depend on what state your sample is in (solid or liquid). For solid samples, here is a good walk through of sample preparation. You will then use your dropper to grab some of your dissolved samples to put into the testing cuvette. Be sure your sample is dissolved in the mineral oil enough to change the color of the oil. Once your sample is in this state, move on to liquid sample prep below.

For liquid sample prep you only need a few drops of your sample. Use a clean dropper to put enough drops in a cuvette to fill it just under half way. Put on your protective glasses on and shine it into the bottom half of the cuvette. If you can not see the laser beam in your sample, it is too dark and you will need to dilute it with the mineral oil until you can see the beam.

Label your sample in a way that you will be able to differentiate it later from others you scan.

At this point you can choose to prep all of your samples at once or begin scanning your first sample and return to sample prep with your others once this first one is uploaded on spectral workbench. Be sure to Keep your samples organized with labels Make sure that they do not turn fall over or turn upside down once they are in the cuvettes, they can leak.

Stage three: Scan your samples

Tools you will need:

• samples in cuvettes,
• computers,
• lasers,
• gloves and
• protective eye gear.

The cuvettes fit into the small hole in the oil testing add on. The laser will fit into the holder adjacent to where the cuvette is placed. Once these are aligned you may begin to scan your samples. good directions for scanning samples can be found on this wiki.

Stage four: Compare your samples.

Tools you will need:

• computer,
• pens and
• paper research notes

Once you have scanned your samples into spectral workbench, you can compare them to each other. There are good directions for walking through identifying unknown samples on this wiki.

Stage five: Dispose of your samples

Tools you will need:

• bio jar,
• gloves and
• samples.

Once you are finished scanning your samples into spectralworkbench and are satisfied with your data set, you should dispose of your samples in a safe way. Some suggestions for disposal can be found on this wiki.

Conclude:

Go over what people are exploring, review with everyone what people have posted on the boards or wrote on their research notes. Allow people to take the notes with them if they want to do an online write up, but be sure to photograph them first just in case! Be sure to thank everyone for coming and invite them to your next event!

After your event:

Take pictures of the posters. Scan in the hand written research notes that you collected. Document what you explored in your event in a Public Lab Research Note include your pictures. Don’t forget to tag it with the tags: #spectrometer, #workshop, #oil-response-toolkit, #oil-testing-kit

Notes by people who have run this event as it has developed:

• July 31, 2014 (New Orleans)

Oil Testing Workshop

This post is a working document on the developing Oil Testing Kit Event Guide. I expect it to change and adapt as we refine our techniques. Please post comments and feedback.

Oil Testing Exploration Event

Resources Needed:

• 4 poster boards
• markers and pens
• sticky notes
• paper research notes
• one computer per 1-2 people (can work in teams)
• a power source that can support all your computers
• large clean space for people to build their kits (long tables work well)
• one Public Lab Oil Testing Kit (Spectrometer and Oil Testing Kit attachment) per team
• 7 cuvettes per team
• 1 uv laser per team
• 1 set of gloves per person
• 1 pair of protective glasses per person
• small stickers to label your samples
• swabs for the samples
• small glass jars for solid sample prep - only if you have solid samples, nail polish bottle size is perfect
• eye droppers, one for each sample
• mineral oil
• fluorescent light for spectrometer calibration
• paper towels
• a camera (to document)
• newspaper (to protect your table)
• bio jar for your used samples

Setting up the event:

1) Set your tables up near a power source that can be used by all the computers and line your table with the news paper.
2) Put up the poster board on the wall with the words “Notes, Questions and Ideas” and label them in order additionally with: Construct, Collect, Scan, Compare.
3) Put post-its, markers and pens on each table.
4) Put copies of the hand written research notes on each table for people to include more in depth information on what they explored.

Event Structure:

Introduce the Event:

1) Introduce yourself, why you are interested in this project and a little bit about Public Lab.
2) Emphasise that the tools, technology and event structure is currently being developed and that the outcomes of this event are to explore all three and make them better.
3) Identify that we will walk through how you would do this at each stage together.
4) Highlight the posters, markers and sticky pads available for people to put up their questions, comments, ideas and things they explored while they were there.
5) Introduce the concept of spectrometry for those who might be new to the idea. A useful explanation can be found on this page.

Walk through the stages of the process: (a more thorough walk through can be found on this page) The stages of the process include:

• Construction, (estimated 1 hour)
• Sample preparation, (estimated 30 minutes)
• Scan your samples, (10 minutes per sample)
• Compare your samples (30 minutes)
• Dispose.

You will now begin the process of building the kit and running the tests. Encourage participants to keep notes on what was hard to do or understand, any questions they have or ideas. These can be written on the paper research notes or on the sticky notes and put on the poster. You will review these after the workshop.

Stage one: Construction

Tools you will need:

• Spectrometer Kit per person or team,
• Oil testing kit add on per person or team and
• Computer.

Your attendees will need to build both the spectrometers and the oil testing add on pieces. These pieces will fit together and are your tools for oil testing.

1) Build the spectrometer: construction directions can be found on this wiki.
Be sure to calibrate the spectrometer using a fluorescent light before adding on the oil testing piece. 2) Log in to Public Lab: To calibrate the spectrometer participants will need to use spectralworkbench.org. Make sure that each participant, or one person from each team has a Public Lab log-in and can access spectralworkbench.org
3) Calibrate the Spectrometer. Calibration directions can be found on this wiki.
4) Build the Oil Testing add-on: instructions can be found on this wiki.

Stage two: Sample Preparation

Tools you will need:

• pens,
• cuvettes,
• droppers,
• protective eye gear,
• gloves,
• samples,
• laser and
• mineral oil.
• if you’re working with hard samples you will also need swabs and sample jars.

Your sample preparation will depend on what state your sample is in (solid or liquid). For solid samples, here is a good walk through of sample preparation. You will then use your dropper to grab some of your dissolved samples to put into the testing cuvette. Be sure your sample is dissolved in the mineral oil enough to change the color of the oil. Once your sample is in this state, move on to liquid sample prep below.

For liquid sample prep you only need a few drops of your sample. Use a clean dropper to put enough drops in a cuvette to fill it just under half way. Put on your protective glasses on and shine it into the bottom half of the cuvette. If you can not see the laser beam in your sample, it is too dark and you will need to dilute it with the mineral oil until you can see the beam.

Label your sample in a way that you will be able to differentiate it later from others you scan.

At this point you can choose to prep all of your samples at once or begin scanning your first sample and return to sample prep with your others once this first one is uploaded on spectral workbench. Be sure to Keep your samples organized with labels Make sure that they do not turn fall over or turn upside down once they are in the cuvettes, they can leak.

Stage three: Scan your samples

Tools you will need:

• samples in cuvettes,
• computers,
• lasers,
• gloves and
• protective eye gear.

The cuvettes fit into the small hole in the oil testing add on. The laser will fit into the holder adjacent to where the cuvette is placed. Once these are aligned you may begin to scan your samples. good directions for scanning samples can be found onthis wiki.

Stage four: Compare your samples.

Tools you will need:

• computer,
• pens and
• paper research notes

Once you have scanned your samples into spectral workbench, you can compare them to each other. There are good directions for walking through identifying unknown samples on this wiki.

Stage five: Dispose of your samples

Tools you will need:

• bio jar,
• gloves and
• samples.

Once you are finished scanning your samples into spectralworkbench and are satisfied with your data set, you should dispose of your samples in a safe way. Some suggestions for disposal can be found on this wiki.

Conclude:

Go over what people are exploring, review with everyone what people have posted on the boards or wrote on their research notes. Allow people to take the notes with them if they want to do an online write up, but be sure to photograph them first just in case! Be sure to thank everyone for coming and invite them to your next event!

After your event:

Take pictures of the posters. Scan in the hand written research notes that you collected. Document what you explored in your event in a Public Lab Research Note include your pictures. Don’t forget to tag it with the tags: #spectrometer, #workshop, #oil-response-toolkit, #oil-testing-kit

Notes by people who have run this event as it has developed:

• July 31, 2014 (New Orleans)

Oil Testing Workshop

This post is a working document on the developing Oil Testing Kit Event Guide. I expect it to change and adapt as we refine our techniques. Please post comments and feedback.

Oil Testing Exploration Event

Resources Needed:

• 4 poster boards
• markers and pens
• sticky notes
• paper research notes
• one computer per 1-2 people (can work in teams)
• a power source that can support all your computers
• large clean space for people to build their kits (long tables work well)
• one Public Lab Oil Testing Kit (Spectrometer and Oil Testing Kit attachment) per team
• 7 cuvettes per team
• 1 uv laser per team
• 1 set of gloves per person
• 1 pair of protective glasses per person
• small stickers to label your samples
• swabs for the samples
• small glass jars for solid sample prep - only if you have solid samples, nail polish bottle size is perfect
• eye droppers, one for each sample
• mineral oil
• fluorescent light for spectrometer calibration
• paper towels
• a camera (to document)
• newspaper (to protect your table)
• bio jar for your used samples

Setting up the event:

1) Set your tables up near a power source that can be used by all the computers and line your table with the news paper.
2) Put up the poster board on the wall with the words “Notes, Questions and Ideas” and label them in order additionally with: Construct, Collect, Scan, Compare.
3) Put post-its, markers and pens on each table.
4) Put copies of the hand written research notes on each table for people to include more in depth information on what they explored.

Event Structure:

Introduce the Event:

1) Introduce yourself, why you are interested in this project and a little bit about Public Lab.
2) Emphasise that the tools, technology and event structure is currently being developed and that the outcomes of this event are to explore all three and make them better.
3) Identify that we will walk through how you would do this at each stage together.
4) Highlight the posters, markers and sticky pads available for people to put up their questions, comments, ideas and things they explored while they were there.
5) Introduce the concept of spectrometry for those who might be new to the idea. A useful explanation can be found on this page.

Walk through the stages of the process: (a more thorough walk through can be found on this page) The stages of the process include:

• Construction, (estimated 1 hour)
• Sample preparation, (estimated 30 minutes)
• Scan your samples, (10 minutes per sample)
• Compare your samples (30 minutes)
• Dispose.

You will now begin the process of building the kit and running the tests. Encourage participants to keep notes on what was hard to do or understand, any questions they have or ideas. These can be written on the paper research notes or on the sticky notes and put on the poster. You will review these after the workshop.

Stage one: Construction

Tools you will need:

• Spectrometer Kit per person or team,
• Oil testing kit add on per person or team and
• Computer.

Your attendees will need to build both the spectrometers and the oil testing add on pieces. These pieces will fit together and are your tools for oil testing.

1) Build the spectrometer: construction directions can be found on this wiki.
Be sure to calibrate the spectrometer using a fluorescent light before adding on the oil testing piece. 2) Log in to Public Lab: To calibrate the spectrometer participants will need to use spectralworkbench.org. Make sure that each participant, or one person from each team has a Public Lab log-in and can access spectralworkbench.org
3) Calibrate the Spectrometer. Calibration directions can be found on this wiki.
4) Build the Oil Testing add-on: instructions can be found on this wiki.

Stage two: Sample Preparation

Tools you will need:

• pens,
• cuvettes,
• droppers,
• protective eye gear,
• gloves,
• samples,
• laser and
• mineral oil.
• if you’re working with hard samples you will also need swabs and sample jars.

Your sample preparation will depend on what state your sample is in (solid or liquid). For solid samples, here is a good walk through of sample preparation. You will then use your dropper to grab some of your dissolved samples to put into the testing cuvette. Be sure your sample is dissolved in the mineral oil enough to change the color of the oil. Once your sample is in this state, move on to liquid sample prep below.

For liquid sample prep you only need a few drops of your sample. Use a clean dropper to put enough drops in a cuvette to fill it just under half way. Put on your protective glasses on and shine it into the bottom half of the cuvette. If you can not see the laser beam in your sample, it is too dark and you will need to dilute it with the mineral oil until you can see the beam.

Label your sample in a way that you will be able to differentiate it later from others you scan.

At this point you can choose to prep all of your samples at once or begin scanning your first sample and return to sample prep with your others once this first one is uploaded on spectral workbench. Be sure to Keep your samples organized with labels Make sure that they do not turn fall over or turn upside down once they are in the cuvettes, they can leak.

Stage three: Scan your samples

Tools you will need:

• samples in cuvettes,
• computers,
• lasers,
• gloves and
• protective eye gear.

The cuvettes fit into the small hole in the oil testing add on. The laser will fit into the holder adjacent to where the cuvette is placed. Once these are aligned you may begin to scan your samples. good directions for scanning samples can be found onthis wiki.

Stage four: Compare your samples.

Tools you will need:

• computer,
• pens and
• paper research notes

Once you have scanned your samples into spectral workbench, you can compare them to each other. There are good directions for walking through identifying unknown samples on this wiki.

Stage five: Dispose of your samples

Tools you will need:

• bio jar,
• gloves and
• samples.

Once you are finished scanning your samples into spectralworkbench and are satisfied with your data set, you should dispose of your samples in a safe way. Some suggestions for disposal can be found on this wiki.

Conclude:

Go over what people are exploring, review with everyone what people have posted on the boards or wrote on their research notes. Allow people to take the notes with them if they want to do an online write up, but be sure to photograph them first just in case! Be sure to thank everyone for coming and invite them to your next event!

After your event:

Take pictures of the posters. Scan in the hand written research notes that you collected. Document what you explored in your event in a Public Lab Research Note include your pictures. Don’t forget to tag it with the tags: #spectrometer, #workshop, #oil-response-toolkit, #oil-testing-kit

Notes by people who have run this event as it has developed:

• July 31, 2014 (New Orleans)

Oil Testing Workshop

This post is a working document on the developing Oil Testing Kit Event Guide. I expect it to change and adapt as we refine our techniques. Please post comments and feedback.

Oil Testing Exploration Event

Resources Needed:

• 4 poster boards
• markers and pens
• sticky notes
• paper research notes
• one computer per 1-2 people (can work in teams)
• a power source that can support all your computers
• large clean space for people to build their kits (long tables work well)
• one Public Lab Oil Testing Kit (Spectrometer and Oil Testing Kit attachment) per team
• 7 cuvettes per team
• 1 uv laser per team
• 1 set of gloves per person
• 1 pair of protective glasses per person
• small stickers to label your samples
• swabs for the samples
• small glass jars for solid sample prep - only if you have solid samples, nail polish bottle size is perfect
• eye droppers, one for each sample
• mineral oil
• fluorescent light for spectrometer calibration
• paper towels
• a camera (to document)
• newspaper (to protect your table)
• bio jar for your used samples

Setting up the event:

1) Set your tables up near a power source that can be used by all the computers and line your table with the news paper.
2) Put up the poster board on the wall with the words “Notes, Questions and Ideas” and label them in order additionally with: Construct, Collect, Scan, Compare.
3) Put post-its, markers and pens on each table.
4) Put copies of the hand written research notes on each table for people to include more in depth information on what they explored.

Event Structure:

Introduce the Event:

1) Introduce yourself, why you are interested in this project and a little bit about Public Lab.
2) Emphasise that the tools, technology and event structure is currently being developed and that the outcomes of this event are to explore all three and make them better.
3) Identify that we will walk through how you would do this at each stage together and then people can break off and work on pieces of it they find most interesting, this will allow for people to really delve into the different aspects of the project.
4) Highlight the posters, markers and sticky pads available for people to put up their questions, comments, ideas and things they explored while they were there.
5) Introduce the concept of spectrometry for those who might be new to the idea. A useful explanation can be found on this page.

Walk through the stages of the process: (a more thorough walk through can be found on this page) The stages of the process include:

• Construction, (estimated 1 hour)
• Sample preparation, (estimated 30 minutes)
• Scan your samples, (10 minutes per sample)
• Compare your samples (30 minutes)
• Dispose.

You will now begin the process of building the kit and running the tests. Encourage participants to keep notes on what was hard to do or understand, any questions they have or ideas. These can be written on the paper research notes or on the sticky notes and put on the poster. You will review these after the workshop.

Stage one: Construction

Tools you will need:

• Spectrometer Kit per person or team,
• Oil testing kit add on per person or team and
• Computer.

Your attendees will need to build both the spectrometers and the oil testing add on pieces. These pieces will fit together and are your tools for oil testing.

1) Build the spectrometer: construction directions can be found on this wiki.
They should calibrate the spectrometer using a fluorescent light before adding on the oil testing piece. 2) Log in to Public Lab: To calibrate the spectrometer participants will need to use spectralworkbench.org. Make sure that each participant, or one person from each team has a Public Lab log-in and can access spectralworkbench.org
3) Calibrate the Spectrometer. Calibration directions can be found on this wiki.
4) Build the Oil Testing add-on: instructions can be found on this wiki.

Stage two: Sample Preparation

Tools you will need:

• pens,
• cuvettes,
• droppers,
• protective eye gear,
• gloves,
• samples,
• laser and
• mineral oil.
• if you’re working with hard samples you will also need swabs and sample jars.

Your sample preparation will depend on what state your sample is in (solid or liquid). For solid samples, here is a good walk through of sample preparation. You will then use your dropper to grab some of your dissolved samples to put into the testing cuvette. Be sure your sample is dissolved in the mineral oil enough to change the color of the oil. Once your sample is in this state, move on to liquid sample prep below.

For liquid sample prep you only need a few drops of your sample. Use a clean dropper to put enough drops in a cuvette to fill it just under half way. Put on your protective glasses on and shine it into the bottom half of the cuvette. If you can not see the laser beam in your sample, it is too dark and you will need to dilute it with the mineral oil until you can see the beam.

Label your sample in a way that you will be able to differentiate it later from others you scan.

At this point you can choose to prep all of your samples at once or begin scanning your first sample and return to sample prep with your others once this first one is uploaded on spectral workbench. Be sure to Keep your samples organized with labels Make sure that they do not turn fall over or turn upside down once they are in the cuvettes, they can leak.

Stage three: Scan your samples

Tools you will need:

• samples in cuvettes,
• computers,
• lasers,
• gloves and
• protective eye gear.

The cuvettes fit into the small hole in the oil testing add on. The laser will fit into the holder adjacent to where the cuvette is placed. Once these are aligned you may begin to scan your samples. good directions for scanning samples can be found onthis wiki.

Stage four: Compare your samples.

Tools you will need:

• computer,
• pens and
• paper research notes

Once you have scanned your samples into spectral workbench, you can compare them to each other. There are good directions for walking through identifying unknown samples on this wiki.

Stage five: Dispose of your samples

Tools you will need:

• bio jar,
• gloves and
• samples.

Once you are finished scanning your samples into spectralworkbench and are satisfied with your data set, you should dispose of your samples in a safe way. Some suggestions for disposal can be found on this wiki.

Conclude:

Go over what people are exploring, review with everyone what people have posted on the boards or wrote on their research notes. Allow people to take the notes with them if they want to do an online write up, but be sure to photograph them first just in case! Be sure to thank everyone for coming and invite them to your next event!

After your event:

Take pictures of the posters. Scan in the hand written research notes that you collected. Document what you explored in your event in a Public Lab Research Note include your pictures. Don’t forget to tag it with the tags: #spectrometer, #workshop, #oil-response-toolkit, #oil-testing-kit

Oil Testing Workshop

This post is a working document on the developing Oil Testing Kit Event Guide. I expect it to change and adapt as we refine our techniques. Please post comments and feedback.

Oil Testing Exploration Event

Resources Needed:

• 4 poster boards
• markers and pens
• sticky notes
• paper research notes
• one computer per 1-2 people (can work in teams)
• a power source that can support all your computers
• large clean space for people to build their kits (long tables work well)
• one Public Lab Oil Testing Kit (Spectrometer and Oil Testing Kit attachment) per team
• 7 cuvettes per team
• 1 uv laser per team
• 1 set of gloves per person
• 1 pair of protective glasses per person
• small stickers to label your samples
• swabs for the samples
• small glass jars for solid sample prep - only if you have solid samples, nail polish bottle size is perfect
• eye droppers, one for each sample
• mineral oil
• fluorescent light for spectrometer calibration
• paper towels
• a camera (to document)
• newspaper (to protect your table)
• bio jar for your used samples

Setting up the event:

1) Set your tables up near a power source that can be used by all the computers and line your table with the news paper.
2) Put up the poster board on the wall with the words “Notes, Questions and Ideas” and label them in order additionally with: Construct, Collect, Scan, Compare.
3) Put post-its, markers and pens on each table.
4) Put copies of the hand written research notes on each table for people to include more in depth information on what they explored.

Event Structure:

Introduce the Event:

1) Introduce yourself, why you are interested in this project and a little bit about Public Lab.
2) Emphasise that the tools, technology and event structure is currently being developed and that the outcomes of this event are to explore all three and make them better.
3) Identify that we will walk through how you would do this at each stage together and then people can break off and work on pieces of it they find most interesting, this will allow for people to really delve into the different aspects of the project.
4) Highlight the posters, markers and sticky pads available for people to put up their questions, comments, ideas and things they explored while they were there.
5) Introduce the concept of spectrometry for those who might be new to the idea. A useful explanation can be found on this page.

Walk through the stages of the process: (a more thorough walk through can be found on this page) The stages of the process include:

• Construction, (estimated 1 hour)
• Sample preparation, (estimated 30 minutes)
• Scan your samples, (10 minutes per sample)
• Compare your samples (30 minutes)
• Dispose.

You will now begin the process of building the kit and running the tests. Encourage participants to keep notes on what was hard to do or understand, any questions they have or ideas. These can be written on the paper research notes or on the sticky notes and put on the poster. You will review these after the workshop.

Stage one: Construction

Tools you will need:

• Spectrometer Kit per person or team,
• Oil testing kit add on per person or team and
• Computer.

Your attendees will need to build both the spectrometers and the oil testing add on pieces. These pieces will fit together and are your tools for oil testing.

1) Build the spectrometer: construction directions can be found on this wiki.
They should calibrate the spectrometer using a fluorescent light before adding on the oil testing piece. 2) Log in to Public Lab: To calibrate the spectrometer participants will need to use spectralworkbench.org. Make sure that each participant, or one person from each team has a Public Lab log-in and can access spectralworkbench.org
3) Calibrate the Spectrometer. Calibration directions can be found on this wiki.
4) Build the Oil Testing add-on: instructions can be found on this wiki.

Stage two: Sample Preparation

Tools you will need:

• pens,
• cuvettes,
• droppers,
• protective eye gear,
• gloves,
• samples,
• laser and
• mineral oil.
• if you’re working with hard samples you will also need swabs and sample jars.

Your sample preparation will depend on what state your sample is in (solid or liquid). For solid samples, here is a good walk through of sample preparation. You will then use your dropper to grab some of your dissolved samples to put into the testing cuvette. Be sure your sample is dissolved in the mineral oil enough to change the color of the oil. Once your sample is in this state, move on to liquid sample prep below.

For liquid sample prep you only need a few drops of your sample. Use a clean dropper to put enough drops in a cuvette to fill it just under half way. Put on your protective glasses on and shine it into the bottom half of the cuvette. If you can not see the laser beam in your sample, it is too dark and you will need to dilute it with the mineral oil until you can see the beam.

Label your sample in a way that you will be able to differentiate it later from others you scan.

At this point you can choose to prep all of your samples at once or begin scanning your first sample and return to sample prep with your others once this first one is uploaded on spectral workbench. Be sure to Keep your samples organized with labels Make sure that they do not turn fall over or turn upside down once they are in the cuvettes, they can leak.

Stage three: Scan your samples

Tools you will need:

• samples in cuvettes,
• computers,
• lasers,
• gloves and
• protective eye gear.

The cuvettes fit into the small hole in the oil testing add on. The laser will fit into the holder adjacent to where the cuvette is placed. Once these are aligned you may begin to scan your samples. good directions for scanning samples can be found onthis wiki.

Stage four: Compare your samples.

Tools you will need:

• Computer,
• Pens and
• paper research notes

Once you have scanned your samples into spectral workbench, you can compare them to each other. There are good directions for walking through identifying unknown samples on this wiki.

Stage five: Dispose of your samples

Tools you will need:

• bio jar,
• gloves and
• samples.

Once you are finished scanning your samples into spectralworkbench and are satisfied with your data set, you should dispose of your samples in a safe way. Some suggestions for disposal can be found on this wiki.

Conclude:

Go over what people are exploring, review with everyone what people have posted on the boards or wrote on their research notes. Allow people to take the notes with them if they want to do an online write up, but be sure to photograph them first just in case! Be sure to thank everyone for coming and invite them to your next event!

After your event:

Take pictures of the posters. Scan in the hand written research notes that you collected. Document what you explored in your event in a Public Lab Research Note include your pictures. Don’t forget to tag it with the tags: #spectrometer, #workshop, #oil-response-toolkit, #oil-testing-kit

Oil Testing Workshop

This post is a working document on the developing Oil Testing Kit Event Guide. I expect it to change and adapt as we refine our techniques. Please post comments and feedback.

Oil Testing Exploration Event

Resources Needed:

• 4 poster boards
• markers and pens
• sticky notes
• paper research notes
• one computer per 1-2 people (can work in teams)
• a power source that can support all your computers
• large clean space for people to build their kits (long tables work well)
• one Public Lab Oil Testing Kit (Spectrometer and Oil Testing Kit attachment) per team
• 7 cuvettes per team
• 1 uv laser per team
• 1 set of gloves per person
• 1 pair of protective glasses per person
• small stickers to label your samples
• swabs for the samples
• small glass jars for solid sample prep - only if you have solid samples, nail polish bottle size is perfect
• eye droppers, one for each sample
• mineral oil
• fluorescent light for spectrometer calibration
• paper towels
• a camera (to document)
• newspaper (to protect your table)
• bio jar for your used samples

Setting up the event:

1) Set your tables up near a power source that can be used by all the computers and line your table with the news paper.
2) Put up the poster board on the wall with the words “Notes, Questions and Ideas” and label them in order additionally with: Construct, Collect, Scan, Compare.
3) Put post-its, markers and pens on each table.
4) Put copies of the hand written research notes on each table for people to include more in depth information on what they explored.

Event Structure:

Introduce the Event:

1) Introduce yourself, why you are interested in this project and a little bit about Public Lab.
2) Emphasise that the tools, technology and event structure is currently being developed and that the outcomes of this event are to explore all three and make them better.
3) Identify that we will walk through how you would do this at each stage together and then people can break off and work on pieces of it they find most interesting, this will allow for people to really delve into the different aspects of the project.
4) Highlight the posters, markers and sticky pads available for people to put up their questions, comments, ideas and things they explored while they were there.
5) Introduce the concept of spectrometry for those who might be new to the idea. A useful explanation can be found on this page.

Walk through the stages of the process: (a more thorough walk through can be found on this page) The stages of the process include:

• Construction, (estimated 1 hour)
• Sample preparation, (estimated 30 minutes)
• Scan your samples, (10 minutes per sample)
• Compare your samples (30 minutes)
• Dispose.

You will now begin the process of building the kit and running the tests. Encourage participants to keep notes on what was hard to do or understand, any questions they have or ideas. These can be written on the paper research notes or on the sticky notes and put on the poster. You will review these after the workshop.

Stage one: Construction

Your attendees will need to build both the spectrometers and the oil testing add on pieces. These pieces will fit together and are your tools for oil testing.

1) Build the spectrometer: construction directions can be found on this wiki.
They should calibrate the spectrometer using a fluorescent light before adding on the oil testing piece. 2) Log in to Public Lab: To calibrate the spectrometer participants will need to use spectralworkbench.org. Make sure that each participant, or one person from each team has a Public Lab log-in and can access spectralworkbench.org
3) Calibrate the Spectrometer. Calibration directions can be found on this wiki.
4) Build the Oil Testing add-on: instructions can be found on this wiki.

Stage two: Sample Preparation

Tools you will need: -cuvettes, droppers, protective eye gear, gloves, samples, laser and mineral oil. if you’re working with hard samples you will also need swabs and sample jars.

Your sample preparation will depend on what state your sample is in (solid or liquid). For solid samples, here is a good walk through of sample preparation. You will then use your dropper to grab some of your dissolved samples to put into the testing cuvette. Be sure your sample is dissolved in the mineral oil enough to change the color of the oil. Once your sample is in this state, move on to liquid sample prep below.

For liquid sample prep you only need a few drops of your sample. Use a clean dropper to put enough drops in a cuvette to fill it just under half way. Put on your protective glasses on and shine it into the bottom half of the cuvette. If you can not see the laser beam in your sample, it is too dark and you will need to dilute it with the mineral oil until you can see the beam.

Label your sample in a way that you will be able to differentiate it later from others you scan.

At this point you can choose to prep all of your samples at once or begin scanning your first sample and return to sample prep with your others once this first one is uploaded on spectral workbench. Be sure to Keep your samples organized with labels Make sure that they do not turn fall over or turn upside down once they are in the cuvettes, they can leak.

Stage three: Scan your samples

The cuvettes fit into the small hole in the oil testing add on. The laser will fit into the holder adjacent to where the cuvette is placed. Once these are aligned you may begin to scan your samples. good directions for scanning samples can be found onthis wiki.

Stage four: Compare your samples.

Once you have scanned your samples into spectral workbench, you can compare them to each other. There are good directions for walking through identifying unknown samples on this wiki.

Stage five: Dispose of your samples

Once you are finished scanning your samples into spectralworkbench and are satisfied with your data set, you should dispose of your samples in a safe way. Some suggestions for disposal can be found on this wiki.

Conclude:

Go over what people are exploring, review with everyone what people have posted on the boards or wrote on their research notes. Allow people to take the notes with them if they want to do an online write up, but be sure to photograph them first just in case! Be sure to thank everyone for coming and invite them to your next event!

After your event:

Take pictures of the posters. Scan in the hand written research notes that you collected. Document what you explored in your event in a Public Lab Research Note include your pictures. Don’t forget to tag it with the tags: #spectrometer, #workshop, #oil-response-toolkit, #oil-testing-kit

Oil Testing Workshop

This post is a working document on the developing Oil Testing Kit Event Guide. I expect it to change and adapt as we refine our techniques. Please post comments and feedback.

Oil Testing Exploration Event

Resources Needed:

• one computer per 1-2 people (can work in teams)
• a power source that can support all your computers
• large clean space for people to build their kits (long tables work well)
• one Public Lab Oil Testing Kit (Spectrometer and Oil Testing Kit attachment) per team
• 7 cuvettes per team
• small stickers to label your samples
• swabs for the samples
• small glass jars for solid sample prep - only if you have solid samples, nail polish bottle size is perfect
• eye droppers, one for each sample
• mineral oil
• 1 uv laser per team
• markers and pens
• sticky notes
• fluorescent light for spectrometer calibration
• 4 poster boards
• 1 set of gloves per person
• 1 pair of protective glasses per person
• paper towels
• a camera (to document)
• newspaper (to protect your table)
• bio jar for your used samples
• paper research notes

Setting up the event:

1) Set your tables up near a power source that can be used by all the computers and line your table with the news paper.
2) Put up the poster board on the wall with the words “Notes, Questions and Ideas” and label them in order additionally with: Construct, Collect, Scan, Compare.
3) Put post-its, markers and pens on each table.
4) Put copies of the hand written research notes on each table for people to include more in depth information on what they explored.

Event Structure:

Introduce the Event:

1) Introduce yourself, why you are interested in this project and a little bit about Public Lab.
2) Emphasise that the tools, technology and event structure is currently being developed and that the outcomes of this event are to explore all three and make them better.
3) Identify that we will walk through how you would do this at each stage together and then people can break off and work on pieces of it they find most interesting, this will allow for people to really delve into the different aspects of the project.
4) Highlight the posters, markers and sticky pads available for people to put up their questions, comments, ideas and things they explored while they were there.
5) Introduce the concept of spectrometry for those who might be new to the idea. A useful explanation can be found on this page.

Walk through the stages of the process: (a more thorough walk through can be found on this page) The stages of the process include:

• Construction, (estimated 1 hour)
• Sample preparation, (estimated 30 minutes)
• Scan your samples, (10 minutes per sample)
• Compare your samples (30 minutes)
• Dispose.

You will now begin the process of building the kit and running the tests. Encourage participants to keep notes on what was hard to do or understand, any questions they have or ideas. These can be written on the paper research notes or on the sticky notes and put on the poster. You will review these after the workshop.

Stage one: Construction

Your attendees will need to build both the spectrometers and the oil testing add on pieces. These pieces will fit together and are your tools for oil testing.

1) Build the spectrometer: construction directions can be found on this wiki.
They should calibrate the spectrometer using a fluorescent light before adding on the oil testing piece. 2) Log in to Public Lab: To calibrate the spectrometer participants will need to use spectralworkbench.org. Make sure that each participant, or one person from each team has a Public Lab log-in and can access spectralworkbench.org
3) Calibrate the Spectrometer. Calibration directions can be found on this wiki.
4) Build the Oil Testing add-on: instructions can be found on this wiki.

Stage two: Sample Preparation

Tools you will need: -cuvettes, droppers, protective eye gear, gloves, samples, laser and mineral oil. if you’re working with hard samples you will also need swabs and sample jars.

Your sample preparation will depend on what state your sample is in (solid or liquid). For solid samples, here is a good walk through of sample preparation. You will then use your dropper to grab some of your dissolved samples to put into the testing cuvette. Be sure your sample is dissolved in the mineral oil enough to change the color of the oil. Once your sample is in this state, move on to liquid sample prep below.

For liquid sample prep you only need a few drops of your sample. Use a clean dropper to put enough drops in a cuvette to fill it just under half way. Put on your protective glasses on and shine it into the bottom half of the cuvette. If you can not see the laser beam in your sample, it is too dark and you will need to dilute it with the mineral oil until you can see the beam.

Label your sample in a way that you will be able to differentiate it later from others you scan.

At this point you can choose to prep all of your samples at once or begin scanning your first sample and return to sample prep with your others once this first one is uploaded on spectral workbench. Be sure to Keep your samples organized with labels Make sure that they do not turn fall over or turn upside down once they are in the cuvettes, they can leak.

Stage three: Scan your samples

The cuvettes fit into the small hole in the oil testing add on. The laser will fit into the holder adjacent to where the cuvette is placed. Once these are aligned you may begin to scan your samples. good directions for scanning samples can be found onthis wiki.

Stage four: Compare your samples.

Once you have scanned your samples into spectral workbench, you can compare them to each other. There are good directions for walking through identifying unknown samples on this wiki.

Stage five: Dispose of your samples

Once you are finished scanning your samples into spectralworkbench and are satisfied with your data set, you should dispose of your samples in a safe way. Some suggestions for disposal can be found on this wiki.

Conclude:

Go over what people are exploring, review with everyone what people have posted on the boards or wrote on their research notes. Allow people to take the notes with them if they want to do an online write up, but be sure to photograph them first just in case! Be sure to thank everyone for coming and invite them to your next event!

After your event:

Take pictures of the posters. Scan in the hand written research notes that you collected. Document what you explored in your event in a Public Lab Research Note include your pictures. Don’t forget to tag it with the tags: #spectrometer, #workshop, #oil-response-toolkit, #oil-testing-kit

Oil Testing Workshop

This post is a working document on the developing Oil Testing Kit Event Guide. I expect it to change and adapt as we refine our techniques. Please post comments and feedback.

Oil Testing Exploration Event

Resources Needed:

• one computer per 1-2 people (can work in teams)
• a power source that can support all your computers
• large clean space for people to build their kits (long tables work well)
• one Public Lab Oil Testing Kit (Spectrometer and Oil Testing Kit attachment) per team
• 7 cuvettes per team
• small stickers to label your samples
• swabs for the samples
• small glass jars for solid sample prep - only if you have solid samples, nail polish bottle size is perfect
• eye droppers, one for each sample
• mineral oil
• 1 uv laser per team
• markers and pens
• sticky notes
• fluorescent light for spectrometer calibration
• 4 poster boards
• 1 set of gloves per person
• 1 pair of protective glasses per person
• paper towels
• a camera (to document)
• newspaper (to protect your table)
• bio jar for your used samples
• paper research notes

Setting up the event:

1) Set your tables up near a power source that can be used by all the computers and line your table with the news paper.
2) Put up the poster board on the wall with the words “Notes, Questions and Ideas” and label them in order additionally with: Construct, Collect, Scan, Compare.
3) Put post-its, markers and pens on each table.
4) Put copies of the hand written research notes on each table for people to include more in depth information on what they explored.

Event Structure:

Introduce the Event:

1) Introduce yourself, why you are interested in this project and a little bit about Public Lab.
2) Emphasise that the tools, technology and event structure is currently being developed and that the outcomes of this event are to explore all three and make them better.
3) Identify that we will walk through how you would do this at each stage together and then people can break off and work on pieces of it they find most interesting, this will allow for people to really delve into the different aspects of the project.
4) Highlight the posters, markers and sticky pads available for people to put up their questions, comments, ideas and things they explored while they were there.
5) Introduce the concept of spectrometry for those who might be new to the idea. A useful explanation can be found on this page.

Walk through the stages of the process: (a more thorough walk through can be found on this page) The stages of the process include:

• Construction, (estimated 1 hour)
• Sample preparation, (estimated 30 minutes)
• Scan your samples, (10 minutes per sample)
• Compare your samples (30 minutes)
• Dispose.

You will now begin the process of building the kit and running the tests. Encourage participants to keep notes on what was hard to do or understand, any questions they have or ideas. These can be written on the paper research notes or on the sticky notes and put on the poster. You will review these after the workshop.

Stage 1: Construction

Your attendees will need to build both the spectrometers and the oil testing add on pieces. These pieces will fit together and are your tools for oil testing.

1) Build the spectrometer: construction directions can be found on this wiki.
They should calibrate the spectrometer using a fluorescent light before adding on the oil testing piece. 2) Log in to Public Lab: To calibrate the spectrometer participants will need to use spectralworkbench.org. Make sure that each participant, or one person from each team has a Public Lab log-in and can access spectralworkbench.org
3) Calibrate the Spectrometer. Calibration directions can be found on this wiki.
4) Build the Oil Testing add-on: instructions can be found on this wiki.

Stage two: Sample Preparation

Tools you will need: -cuvettes, droppers, protective eye gear, gloves, samples, laser and mineral oil. if you’re working with hard samples you will also need swabs and sample jars.

Your sample preparation will depend on what state your sample is in (solid or liquid). For solid samples, here is a good walk through of sample preparation. You will then use your dropper to grab some of your dissolved samples to put into the testing cuvette. Be sure your sample is dissolved in the mineral oil enough to change the color of the oil. Once your sample is in this state, move on to liquid sample prep below.

For liquid sample prep you only need a few drops of your sample. Use a clean dropper to put enough drops in a cuvette to fill it just under half way. Put on your protective glasses on and shine it into the bottom half of the cuvette. If you can not see the laser beam in your sample, it is too dark and you will need to dilute it with the mineral oil until you can see the beam.

Label your sample in a way that you will be able to differentiate it later from others you scan.

At this point you can choose to prep all of your samples at once or begin scanning your first sample and return to sample prep with your others once this first one is uploaded on spectral workbench. Be sure to Keep your samples organized with labels Make sure that they do not turn fall over or turn upside down once they are in the cuvettes, they can leak.

Stage 3: Scan your samples

The cuvettes fit into the small hole in the oil testing add on. The laser will fit into the holder adjacent to where the cuvette is placed. Once these are aligned you may begin to scan your samples. good directions for scanning samples can be found onthis wiki.

Stage 4: Compare your samples.

Once you have scanned your samples into spectral workbench, you can compare them to each other. There are good directions for walking through identifying unknown samples on this wiki.

Stage 5: Dispose of your samples

Once you are finished scanning your samples into spectralworkbench and are satisfied with your data set, you should dispose of your samples in a safe way. Some suggestions for disposal can be found on this wiki.

Conclude:

Go over what people are exploring, review with everyone what people have posted on the boards or wrote on their research notes. Allow people to take the notes with them if they want to do an online write up, but be sure to photograph them first just in case! Be sure to thank everyone for coming and invite them to your next event!

After your event:

Take pictures of the posters. Scan in the hand written research notes that you collected. Document what you explored in your event in a Public Lab Research Note include your pictures. Don’t forget to tag it with the tags: #spectrometer, #workshop, #oil-response-toolkit, #oil-testing-kit

Oil Testing Workshop

This post is a working document on the developing Oil Testing Kit Event Guide. I expect it to change and adapt as we refine our techniques. Please post comments and feedback.

Oil Testing Exploration Event

Resources Needed:

• one computer per 1-2 people (can work in teams)
• a power source that can support all your computers
• large clean space for people to build their kits (long tables work well)
• one Public Lab Oil Testing Kit (Spectrometer and Oil Testing Kit attachment) per team
• 7 cuvettes per team
• small stickers to label your samples
• swabs for the samples
• small glass jars for solid sample prep - only if you have solid samples, nail polish bottle size is perfect
• eye droppers, one for each sample
• mineral oil
• 1 uv laser per team
• markers and pens
• sticky notes
• fluorescent light for spectrometer calibration
• 4 poster boards
• 1 set of gloves per person
• 1 pair of protective glasses per person
• paper towels
• a camera (to document)
• newspaper (to protect your table)
• bio jar for your used samples
• paper research notes

Setting up the event:

1) Set your tables up near a power source that can be used by all the computers and line your table with the news paper.
2) Put up the poster board on the wall with the words “Notes, Questions and Ideas” and label them in order additionally with: Construct, Collect, Scan, Compare.
3) Put post-its, markers and pens on each table.
4) Put copies of the hand written research notes on each table for people to include more in depth information on what they explored.

Event Structure:

Introduce the Event:

1) Introduce yourself, why you are interested in this project and a little bit about Public Lab.
2) Emphasise that the tools, technology and event structure is currently being developed and that the outcomes of this event are to explore all three and make them better.
3) Identify that we will walk through how you would do this at each stage together and then people can break off and work on pieces of it they find most interesting, this will allow for people to really delve into the different aspects of the project.
4) Highlight the posters, markers and sticky pads available for people to put up their questions, comments, ideas and things they explored while they were there.
5) Introduce the concept of spectrometry for those who might be new to the idea. A useful explanation can be found on this page.

Walk through the stages of the process: (a more thorough walk through can be found on this page) The stages of the process include:

• Construction, (estimated 1 hour)
• Sample preparation, (estimated 30 minutes)
• Scan your samples, (10 minutes per sample)
• Compare your samples (30 minutes)
• Dispose.

You will now begin the process of building the kit and running the tests. Encourage participants to keep notes on what was hard to do or understand, any questions they have or ideas. These can be written on the paper research notes or on the sticky notes and put on the poster. You will review these after the workshop.

Stage 1: Construction

Your attendees will need to build both the spectrometers and the oil testing add on pieces. These pieces will fit together and are your tools for oil testing.

1) Build the spectrometer: construction directions can be found on this wiki.
They should calibrate the spectrometer using a fluorescent light before adding on the oil testing piece. 2) Log in to Public Lab: To calibrate the spectrometer participants will need to use spectralworkbench.org. Make sure that each participant, or one person from each team has a Public Lab log-in and can access spectralworkbench.org
3) Calibrate the Spectrometer. Calibration directions can be found on this wiki.
4) Build the Oil Testing add-on: instructions can be found on this wiki.

Stage two: Sample Preparation

Tools you will need: -cuvettes, droppers, protective eye gear, gloves, samples, laser and mineral oil. if you’re working with hard samples you will also need swabs and sample jars.

Your sample preparation will depend on what state your sample is in (solid or liquid). For solid samples, here is a good walk through of sample preparation. You will then use your dropper to grab some of your dissolved samples to put into the testing cuvette. Be sure your sample is dissolved in the mineral oil enough to change the color of the oil. Once your sample is in this state, move on to liquid sample prep below.

For liquid sample prep you only need a few drops of your sample. Use a clean dropper to put enough drops in a cuvette to fill it just under half way. Put on your protective glasses on and shine it into the bottom half of the cuvette. If you can not see the laser beam in your sample, it is too dark and you will need to dilute it with the mineral oil until you can see the beam.

Label your sample in a way that you will be able to differentiate it later from others you scan.

At this point you can choose to prep all of your samples at once or begin scanning your first sample and return to sample prep with your others once this first one is uploaded on spectral workbench. Be sure to Keep your samples organized with labels Make sure that they do not turn fall over or turn upside down once they are in the cuvettes, they can leak.

Stage 3: Scan your samples

The cuvettes fit into the small hole in the oil testing add on. The laser will fit into the holder adjacent to where the cuvette is placed. Once these are aligned you may begin to scan your samples. good directions for scanning samples can be found onthis wiki.

Stage 4: Compare your samples.

Once you have scanned your samples into spectral workbench, you can compare them to each other. There are good directions for walking through identifying unknown samples on this wiki.

Stage 5: Dispose of your samples

Once you are finished scanning your samples into spectralworkbench and are satisfied with your data set, you should dispose of your samples in a safe way. Some suggestions for disposal can be found on this wiki.

Conclude:

Go over what people are exploring, review with everyone what people have posted on the boards or wrote on their research notes. Allow people to take the notes with them if they want to do an online write up, but be sure to photograph them first just in case! Be sure to thank everyone for coming and invite them to your next event!

After your event:

Take pictures of the posters. Scan in the hand written research notes that you collected. Document what you explored in your event in a Public Lab Research Note include your pictures. Don’t forget to tag it with the tags: #spectrometer, #workshop, #oil-response-toolkit, #oil-testing-kit

Oil Testing Workshop

This post is a working document on the developing Oil Testing Kit Event Guide. I expect it to change and adapt as we refine our techniques. Please post comments and feedback.

Oil Testing Exploration Event

Resources Needed:

• one computer per 1-2 people (can work in teams)
• a power source that can support all your computers
• large clean space for people to build their kits (long tables work well)
• one Public Lab Oil Testing Kit (Spectrometer and Oil Testing Kit attachment) per team
• 7 cuvettes per team
• small stickers to label your samples
• swabs for the samples
• small glass jars for solid sample prep - only if you have solid samples, nail polish bottle size is perfect
• eye droppers, one for each sample
• mineral oil
• 1 uv laser per team
• markers and pens
• sticky notes
• fluorescent light for spectrometer calibration
• 4 poster boards
• 1 set of gloves per person
• 1 pair of protective glasses per person
• paper towels
• a camera (to document)
• newspaper (to protect your table)
• bio jar for your used samples
• paper research notes

Setting up the event:

1) Set your tables up near a power source that can be used by all the computers and line your table with the news paper. 2) Put up the poster board on the wall with the words “Notes, Questions and Ideas” and label them in order additionally with: Construct, Collect, Scan, Compare. 3) Put post-its, markers and pens on each table. 4) Put copies of the hand written research notes on each table for people to include more in depth information on what they explored.

Event Structure:

Introduce the Event:

1) Introduce yourself, why you are interested in this project and a little bit about Public Lab.
2) Emphasise that the tools, technology and event structure is currently being developed and that the outcomes of this event are to explore all three and make them better.
3) Identify that we will walk through how you would do this at each stage together and then people can break off and work on pieces of it they find most interesting, this will allow for people to really delve into the different aspects of the project.
4) Highlight the posters, markers and sticky pads available for people to put up their questions, comments, ideas and things they explored while they were there.
5) Introduce the concept of spectrometry for those who might be new to the idea. A useful explanation can be found on this page.

Walk through the stages of the process: (a more thorough walk through can be found on this page) The stages of the process include:

• Construction, (estimated 1 hour)
• Sample preparation, (estimated 30 minutes)
• Scan your samples, (10 minutes per sample)
• Compare your samples (30 minutes)
• Dispose.

You will now begin the process of building the kit and running the tests. Encourage participants to keep notes on what was hard to do or understand, any questions they have or ideas. These can be written on the paper research notes or on the sticky notes and put on the poster. You will review these after the workshop.

Stage 1: Construction

Your attendees will need to build both the spectrometers and the oil testing add on pieces. These pieces will fit together and are your tools for oil testing.

1) Build the spectrometer: construction directions can be found on this wiki.
They should calibrate the spectrometer using a fluorescent light before adding on the oil testing piece. 2) Log in to Public Lab: To calibrate the spectrometer participants will need to use spectralworkbench.org. Make sure that each participant, or one person from each team has a Public Lab log-in and can access spectralworkbench.org
3) Calibrate the Spectrometer. Calibration directions can be found on this wiki.
4) Build the Oil Testing add-on: instructions can be found on this wiki.

Stage two: Sample Preparation

Tools you will need: -cuvettes, droppers, protective eye gear, gloves, samples, laser and mineral oil. if you’re working with hard samples you will also need swabs and sample jars.

Your sample preparation will depend on what state your sample is in (solid or liquid). For solid samples, here is a good walk through of sample preparation. You will then use your dropper to grab some of your dissolved samples to put into the testing cuvette. Be sure your sample is dissolved in the mineral oil enough to change the color of the oil. Once your sample is in this state, move on to liquid sample prep below.

For liquid sample prep you only need a few drops of your sample. Use a clean dropper to put enough drops in a cuvette to fill it just under half way. Put on your protective glasses on and shine it into the bottom half of the cuvette. If you can not see the laser beam in your sample, it is too dark and you will need to dilute it with the mineral oil until you can see the beam.

Label your sample in a way that you will be able to differentiate it later from others you scan.

At this point you can choose to prep all of your samples at once or begin scanning your first sample and return to sample prep with your others once this first one is uploaded on spectral workbench. Be sure to Keep your samples organized with labels Make sure that they do not turn fall over or turn upside down once they are in the cuvettes, they can leak.

Stage 3: Scan your samples

The cuvettes fit into the small hole in the oil testing add on. The laser will fit into the holder adjacent to where the cuvette is placed. Once these are aligned you may begin to scan your samples. good directions for scanning samples can be found onthis wiki.

Stage 4: Compare your samples.

Once you have scanned your samples into spectral workbench, you can compare them to each other. There are good directions for walking through identifying unknown samples on this wiki.

Stage 5: Dispose of your samples

Once you are finished scanning your samples into spectralworkbench and are satisfied with your data set, you should dispose of your samples in a safe way. Some suggestions for disposal can be found on this wiki.

Conclude:

Go over what people are exploring, review with everyone what people have posted on the boards or wrote on their research notes. Allow people to take the notes with them if they want to do an online write up, but be sure to photograph them first just in case! Be sure to thank everyone for coming and invite them to your next event!

After your event:

Take pictures of the posters. Scan in the hand written research notes that you collected. Document what you explored in your event in a Public Lab Research Note include your pictures. Don’t forget to tag it with the tags: #spectrometer, #workshop, #oil-response-toolkit, #oil-testing-kit

Oil Testing Workshop

This post is a working document on the developing Oil Testing Kit Event Guide. I expect it to change and adapt as we refine our techniques. Please post comments and feedback.

Oil Testing Exploration Event

Resources Needed:

• one computer per 1-2 people (can work in teams)
• a power source that can support all your computers
• large clean space for people to build their kits (long tables work well)
• one Public Lab Oil Testing Kit (Spectrometer and Oil Testing Kit attachment) per team
• 7 cuvettes per team
• small stickers to label your samples
• swabs for the samples
• small glass jars for solid sample prep - only if you have solid samples, nail polish bottle size is perfect
• eye droppers, one for each sample
• mineral oil
• 1 uv laser per team
• markers and pens
• sticky notes
• fluorescent light for spectrometer calibration
• 4 poster boards
• 1 set of gloves per person
• 1 pair of protective glasses per person
• paper towels
• a camera (to document)
• newspaper (to protect your table)
• bio jar for your used samples
• paper research notes

Setting up the event:

1) Set your tables up near a power source that can be used by all the computers and line your table with the news paper. 2) Put up the poster board on the wall with the words “Notes, Questions and Ideas” and label them in order additionally with: Construct, Collect, Scan, Compare. 3) Put post-its, markers and pens on each table. 4) Put copies of the hand written research notes on each table for people to include more in depth information on what they explored.

Event Structure:

Introduce the Event:

1) Introduce yourself, why you are interested in this project and a little bit about Public Lab. 2) Emphasise that the tools, technology and event structure is currently being developed and that the outcomes of this event are to explore all three and make them better. 3) Identify that we will walk through how you would do this at each stage together and then people can break off and work on pieces of it they find most interesting, this will allow for people to really delve into the different aspects of the project. 4) Highlight the posters, markers and sticky pads available for people to put up their questions, comments, ideas and things they explored while they were there. 5) Introduce the concept of spectrometry for those who might be new to the idea. A useful explanation can be found on this page.

Walk through the stages of the process: (a more thorough walk through can be found on this page) The stages of the process include:

• Construction, (estimated 1 hour)
• Sample preparation, (estimated 30 minutes)
• Scan your samples, (10 minutes per sample)
• Compare your samples (30 minutes)
• Dispose.

You will now begin the process of building the kit and running the tests. Encourage participants to keep notes on what was hard to do or understand, any questions they have or ideas. These can be written on the paper research notes or on the sticky notes and put on the poster. You will review these after the workshop.

Stage 1: Construction

Your attendees will need to build both the spectrometers and the oil testing add on pieces. These pieces will fit together and are your tools for oil testing.

1) Build the spectrometer: construction directions can be found on this wiki. They should calibrate the spectrometer using a fluorescent light before adding on the oil testing piece. 2) Log in to Public Lab: To calibrate the spectrometer participants will need to use spectralworkbench.org. Make sure that each participant, or one person from each team has a Public Lab log-in and can access spectralworkbench.org 3) Calibrate the Spectrometer. Calibration directions can be found on this wiki. 4) Build the Oil Testing add-on: instructions can be found on this wiki.

Stage two: Sample Preparation

Tools you will need: -cuvettes, droppers, protective eye gear, gloves, samples, laser and mineral oil. if you’re working with hard samples you will also need swabs and sample jars.

Your sample preparation will depend on what state your sample is in (solid or liquid). For solid samples, here is a good walk through of sample preparation. You will then use your dropper to grab some of your dissolved samples to put into the testing cuvette. Be sure your sample is dissolved in the mineral oil enough to change the color of the oil. Once your sample is in this state, move on to liquid sample prep below.

For liquid sample prep you only need a few drops of your sample. Use a clean dropper to put enough drops in a cuvette to fill it just under half way. Put on your protective glasses on and shine it into the bottom half of the cuvette. If you can not see the laser beam in your sample, it is too dark and you will need to dilute it with the mineral oil until you can see the beam.

Label your sample in a way that you will be able to differentiate it later from others you scan.

At this point you can choose to prep all of your samples at once or begin scanning your first sample and return to sample prep with your others once this first one is uploaded on spectral workbench. Be sure to Keep your samples organized with labels Make sure that they do not turn fall over or turn upside down once they are in the cuvettes, they can leak.

Stage 3: Scan your samples

The cuvettes fit into the small hole in the oil testing add on. The laser will fit into the holder adjacent to where the cuvette is placed. Once these are aligned you may begin to scan your samples. good directions for scanning samples can be found onthis wiki.

Stage 4: Compare your samples.

Once you have scanned your samples into spectral workbench, you can compare them to each other. There are good directions for walking through identifying unknown samples on this wiki.

Stage 5: Dispose of your samples

Once you are finished scanning your samples into spectralworkbench and are satisfied with your data set, you should dispose of your samples in a safe way. Some suggestions for disposal can be found on this wiki.

Conclude:

Go over what people are exploring, review with everyone what people have posted on the boards or wrote on their research notes. Allow people to take the notes with them if they want to do an online write up, but be sure to photograph them first just in case! Be sure to thank everyone for coming and invite them to your next event!

After your event:

Take pictures of the posters. Scan in the hand written research notes that you collected. Document what you explored in your event in a Public Lab Research Note include your pictures. Don’t forget to tag it with the tags: #spectrometer, #workshop, #oil-response-toolkit, #oil-testing-kit

This post is a working document on the developing Oil Testing Kit Event Guide. I expect it to change and adapt as we refine our techniques. Please post comments and feedback. This is the event structure we followed for the Oil Testing Event on 7/31/14.

Oil Testing Exploration Event

Resources Needed:

• 4 long tables and a chairs
• 4 Computers
• 3 Working specs to attach to the computers with enclosing boxes (what you can fit the spec and your sample in to scan it in a dark space, make a hole for the laser to go through) (These can also be cell phone specs)
• 10 or so collection bottles (pre filled with mineral oil)
• stickers to label your samples
• swabs for the samples
• 4-5 uv lasers
• markers and pens
• sticky notes
• 4 poster boards
• gloves
• paper towels
• a camera (to document)
• news paper (to protect your table)
• bio jar
• paper research notes
• ***If you want to make available for people to work on developing their own spec designs you will need materials such as: scissors, exacto knives, glue, tape, a plastic board to cut on and chip board. (we had these materials but found that everyone was more interested in working with the existing specs)

Setting up the event:

Setting up the room:

1) Line up the four tables with room for people to work on either side of them. Put up a poster board behind each table with the words “Notes, Questions and Ideas” and label them in order additionally with: Construct, Collect, Scan, Compare. 2) Put post-its, markers and pens on each table. 3) Put copies of the hand written research notes on each table for people to include more in depth information on what they explored. 4) Put a few chairs around each table (some people do prefer to stand and work especially around the first table).

Set up the 4 tables:

Table 1: This is where people can work to construct a spectrometer. This is where you would have your construction materials set out and any spec kits you have that can be assembled (cell phone or desktop). This is also where I had a spec kit laid out in order of how you would put it together showing each stage of construction (with the folded part already folded etc.).

Table 2: This is where you prepare your samples. The sample preparation table has the following materials: 10 or so collection bottles (pre-filled with mineral oil), stickers to label your samples, swabs for the samples, bio jar, gloves, paper towels, newspaper (to protect your table), a UV laser, optional samples that are already prepared.

Table 3: This is where you can scan your samples. Set up two computers on this table with two built spectrometers and boxes to scan. Get them logged on to spectral workbench.

Table 4: This is where people can compare samples. This table is similar to the previous one, people can scan them and compare them at this table. (We generally found that the computers and scanning took up a good bit of space so people did both steps at both of these tables.)

Event Structure:

Introduce the Event: 1) Introduce yourself, why you are interested in this project and a little bit about Public Lab. 2) Emphasise that the tools, technology and event structure is currently being developed and that the outcomes of this event are to explore all three and make them better. 4) Identify that we will walk through how you would do this at each stage together and then people can break off and work on pieces of it they find most interesting, this will allow for people to really delve into the different aspects of the project. 5) Highlight the posters, markers and sticky pads available for people to put up their questions, comments, ideas and things they explored while they were there.

Walk through the stages of the process: (a more thorough walk through can be found on this page) 1) At the first table you can explain a little bit about spectrometry, how you can use it to identify samples. 2) Walk through how you would build a spectrometer with your layed out version. 3) At the Second table, walk through how you would prepare a sample (you can demonstrate this). 4) Use the laser to test if your sample is floressing, if it needs to be diluted or made stronger etc. 5) At the third table, show how you would scan a sample. 6) Point out tools on spectral workbench, the flip and the compare functions especially.

Jump in:

Invite people to pick a table, a part in the process they are most interested in and delve into that they find on it. Remind them to experiment, take notes on the poster board and on their research notes and to have a good time! Don’t forget to take pictures. They help with documenting your event and the processes.

Conclude:

Go over what people are exploring, review with everyone what people have posted on the boards or wrote on their research notes. Allow people to take the notes with them if they want to do an online write up, but be sure to photograph them first just in case! Be sure to thank everyone for coming and invite them to your next event!

After your event:

Take pictures of the posters. Scan in the hand written research notes that you collected. Document what you explored in your event in a Public Lab Research Note include your pictures. Don’t forget to tag it with the tags: #spectrometer, #workshop, #oil-response-toolkit, #oil-testing-kit