Democratizing data and science through the Kits Initiative

Public Lab works to "level the data playing field,” making it possible for people to issue rigorously collected, high-quality, local environmental datasets for use alongside government data for verification and advocacy. We do this by building curriculum, hardware, and software; providing space for research and development; and bringing tools to maturity, making them field ready.

The Kits Initiative creates, assembles, and distributes kits from the open research designs of the Public Lab community to foster and develop the reach of open, accessible science, by placing tools in the hands of those that need them. Revenue from the kits program directly supports the Public Lab nonprofit.

Kits Initiative Objectives

The two main goals of the program are:

1) Building a space to create “big data” through “small data” from grassroots sources through the development of a data publishing platform, formatting citizen-collected data to be comparable to government data, and making data actionable by communities to agitate for change, online and offline, and;

2) Scaling the development and production of kits, and developing novel kits, to enable over 20,000 participants to produce their own civic data by 2016.

Public Lab Store

Visit the Public Lab Store »

Public Lab Bulk Sales

View our bulk catalogue and wholesale pricing options here »

Current Kits Sale: September 2014

[](https://i.publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/006/664/original/back-to-school-sale-3.png)Get ready to head back to school with Public Lab kits! Now through September 30th, all kits can be purchased for 20% off. Enter discount code BACK2SCHOOL at checkout.

DIY kits are great for science fairs. Demonstrate how spectral "fingerprints" are used to identify materials, or how to monitor plant health using near infrared photos.

Instructors, join the growing community, and try out some lesson plan ideas. Papercraft Spectrometers make great Do-It-Together science crafts. Get enough for the whole class to build for under $10 each!

Schools and Institutions contact shipping@publiclab.org for additional deals on shipping costs.

Teachers looking for specials on collections or bulk orders email Natalie@publiclab.org for a special discount code!

Contact the Kits Initiative team

The Public Lab Kits Initiative is a part of the Public Lab Nonprofit which distributes open hardware kits to support the Public Lab community. The Kits Initiative is based out of the Public Lab Portland, Oregon office and is managed by Natalie Mayorga. To reach the Kits Initiative team, email kits@publiclab.org or call 503-902-5874.