NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 2017

Public Lab Launches Balloon Mapping Kit Campaign with Kickstarter Gold
Updated Aerial Mapping Kits, plus new “prototype” DIY mini kits. 
 
The Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science (Public Lab) has launched a campaign with Kickstarter Gold,an initiative designed to highlight the ongoing evolution of products that got their start with crowdfunding from Kickstarter. 

Public Lab, a not-for-profit that supports community science and collaborative development of environmental research tools, grew out of a response to the BP oil disaster of 2010, when a group of independent researchers, organizers and environmental advocates coordinated the use of kite and balloon mapping tools to gather important data about the scope of the oil spill’s environmental impact during a time when other means of visual surveying were impacted by a no-fly zone. 

Public Lab’s original Balloon Mapping kit, a toolset designed to make aerial photography accessible to anyone, was originally funded in 2012. Since then, the aerial mapping project has grown: balloon and kite mappers of all ages and backgrounds have used Public Lab aerial photography methods and resources to document environmental and social issues around the world. 

We are excited to return to Kickstarter to offer a suite of tools through this campaign: kite and balloon mapping kits that have been improved by years of community driven field-testing and development, as well as two DIY “prototype” options, smaller kits designed for people with an interest in experimenting with new lightweight possibilities for mapping aerial photography.

Additional information on the Balloon Mapping Kit Kickstarter can be found at: 

[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/publiclab/kickstarter-gold-balloon-mapping-kits](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/publiclab/kickstarter-gold-balloon-mapping-kits)

About the Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science
The Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science (Public Lab) is a community which develops and applies open-source tools to environmental exploration and investigation. By democratizing inexpensive and accessible “Do-It-Yourself” techniques, Public Laboratory creates a collaborative network of practitioners who actively re-imagine the human relationship with the environment.

The core Public Lab program is focused on “civic science” in which we research open source hardware and software tools and methods to generate knowledge and share data about community environmental health. Our goal is to increase the ability of underserved communities to identify, redress, remediate, and create awareness and accountability around environmental concerns. Public Lab achieves this by providing online and offline training, education and support, and by focusing on locally relevant outcomes that emphasize human capacity and understanding. For more information, please visit http://publiclab.org.

Contacts

Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science: Shannon Dosemagen; phone: 504.239.4642; email: media@publiclab.org