[hackerspaces] Floating community equipment sets?

[Shirley Hicks]

Mike crates and milk crate equivalents are good modular size. 
Also, rubbermaid totes and fold up carts. We do that with our show materials now. 

— Shirley

each module's size.  I've seen a few
> setups where big, custom wood crates or large Pelican boxes were built
> for school/etc use.  They almost never left, since they required a van
> and 2-3 people to move.
> 
> Arc light
> On Sat, May 7, 2016 at 9:48 AM, Joshua Pritt <ramgarden at gmail.com> wrote:
>> So you're talking about a hackerspace in a box?  I think there has been
>> several ideas for a project like this.
>> 
>> On May 7, 2016 11:44 AM, "William Macfarlane" <wmacfarl at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> How many?  I have a lot of thoughts, but my first is that the differences
>>> between a set of 12, a set of 40 and a set of 100 are big enough to make
>>> them different problems...
>>> 
>>> On Sat, May 7, 2016 at 10:40 AM, Shirley Hicks
>>> <shirley at velochicdesign.com> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Hey everyone,
>>>> 
>>>> We have an unaddressed need in the greater Birmingham, AL metro area for
>>>> a floating set of laptops, arduinos/inventor’s kits that could be loaned out
>>>> to multiple community groups already working with kids, teens and adults,
>>>> but who are having difficulties finding budget room for instructional kits,
>>>> or bureaucratic room (IT security concerns) regarding adding additional IDEs
>>>> and other software tools to their networked computers.
>>>> 
>>>> The few community groups who have attempted this haven’t been the most
>>>> tech savvy and have run into problems with budgeting maintenance and
>>>> eventual replacement into their programs, as well as instruction. They also
>>>> haven’t scaled - lack of communication between different parts of the
>>>> community (black/white, urban/suburban/exurban, no one regional school
>>>> system, biggest library system underfunded).
>>>> 
>>>> Our makerspace is in the unique position of knowing most of the people
>>>> who want to do more of this stuff within their individual community groups -
>>>> and having the technical and financial background to get this rolling for
>>>> the long-term.
>>>> 
>>>> I’m planning to write a grant application in June, but need some help
>>>> finding financial models from other community groups and makerspace who have
>>>> gone down this road. I’m specifically looking for experiences with kit
>>>> durability, need for replacement parts, laptop maintenance needs, any paid
>>>> staff costs that need to be allowed for, and the financial planning required
>>>> to do it all.
>>>> 
>>>> Any pointers would be appreciated.
>>>> 
>>>> Thanks!
>>>> 
>>>> Shirley Hicks
>>>> Red Mountain Makers
>>>> Birmingham, AL
>>>> 
>>>> 
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>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --
>>> -Will
>>> www.partsandcrafts.org
>>> 
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>> 
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