Remember to bring your surprise 
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I will be manufacturing a solvent in the lab tomorrow night around 7pm or 7:30. Drop by if you want to say hi and learn some Chemistry.
Dear science lab members, please wash your glassware after use and put it in the rack to dry.
Leaving it dirty in the sink and unwashed is not only messy but also potentially dangerous since only you know what the contents of your beaker was and it may react with something someone else is disposing of.
Last night I went to the space and found the science lab in the condition above, please donāt leave it this way again.
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Hi Everyone
Its been a long time since there was an update. I have 2 main items to address.
- There will be a working bee THIS Saturday at the space. Mostly it is a cleanup and re-sort, as well as printing off another batch of SDSs for the new chemicals we have gathered.
- There will be a meeting this Tuesday at 7pm, can everyone involved with the lab please turn up. The agenda is mostly a refresher on upcoming events, our targets, and a vote/discussion about epoxy for resurfacing the floor.
This Saturday? as in during the party (which has stuff starting at 3pm, so people their before, even if main event is at 6pm)ā¦ Can I perhaps suggest if thatās the day you try to get it over with early, as otherwise it creates a set of issues that really we should be able to avoid completely by just choosing another date.
Hmm, good point. In that case we will be sure to be finished before 3pm
Just a reminder that the science lab meeting will be on at 7pm this Tuesday. It would be nice if we could start at 7 and that I wont have to run around and find everyone.
Cheers
Hi everyone.
News has it someone from the council will be visiting the science lab this Tuesday. We will need to give it a clean out.
Additionally, we will be having a meeting this Tuesday, however this time at 7:30pm (or after the HSBNE meeting, which ever is more convenient)
I am still putting together the agenda for the meeting, however I have a few new rules coming out to try and keep the mess under control better.
Secondly, Jace has something he would like to announce to the group.
Hey all,
So we are giving the science lab cause two weeks from next Tuesday, on the 11th of August if the science lab cause room is not up to an acceptable level it will be locked down. Please find the photos of what is not acceptable.
Please come to the science lab meeting Tuesday so this can be discussed further.
Jason
General rubbish
General Mess
Unlabeled beer bottles
Mess
Rubbish in sink
Poor equipment care
Mess, rubbish, unlabeled
Mess
General rubbish, questionable materials
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Just an update for everyone. We have floor epoxy, paint, and we will be announcing a working bee for emptying out the science and renovating it.
There will be a lot of work and it will be a two day working bee. There is no date set yet as we are still getting permission from the land lord.
So watch this space.
Also, after a visit from the OGTR which audit bio labs (more specifically gene tech), they said they will be interested in helping acredit the lab for free, we just need to be able to bring the lab to an acceptable standard.
The major plan is to renovate the science lab, get propper waste disposal and storage solutions, then get the lab accredited.
Then we will begin talking with highschools and universities about getting equipment and running events.
Second to that, there will be some classes coming up, we will just focus on basic lab skills and chemistry concepts.
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Sounds good, Iām curious as to what youāve sourced for floor epoxy?
Its a rather typical look. Simeon has sent me this link, which is supposed to be the finished result of his epoxy:
Keep in mind doing that sort of finish will require a lot of prep and a decent thickness of product. Like, lots of grinding and then putting down a screed and then a few mm of epoxy.
It will be freaking awesome if you get it done right, but just be aware its more work than you might anticipate.
Also, if you havent bought it yet, could I advise going for white? You dont need to put in the particulate, but white will look a lot cleaner and make it more evident when its not clean, which I think is more important for a lab. That particulate is good for places where its high traffic but you dont want to clean it constantly, hides dirt.
Also keep in mind slips and trips, a bit of grit to prevent slipping will go a long way.
I think the compounds surface if you buy the right stuff is meant to be non slip. Sand isnt a bad idea but youāve gotta throw it through a hopper with compressed air or something to lay it down evenly, and then when you do that it makes it harder to clean by quite a lot. These are the things we found with the green room floor anyhow.
Rustoleum sells some paint onable high grip stuff that you can put in front of work spaces, also worth a thought.
Hay everyone.
This is a rush email to give people an update.
I have been super busy and have not been at the space for a while now.
Iāve not heard any news on the renovation plan, however we still have plenty we can do in the room, it just doesnāt look like daisies.
Please remember to clean up more than just the mess you made, this means cleaning up other peopleās mess. We had a member explain their reasons for not cleaning up other peopleās messes in lab, because of their bad experience at another lab, but I would like to put out there that I donāt think we have anything that can explode on you.
Lastly and most importantly, a while ago I had a few members saying they liked what we did in the room, and they like what it stands for, but they arenāt interested in being involved.
This is fine but I have been thinking on it. Maybe there are a few members in the space who like the idea of doing something in the science lab, however they donāt really know where to start, or are too scared to touch anything.
As such, I would be happy to run a once a week program for people who have only a general interest in science.
This could be something like a 1 per week lecture that I would call āconfident chemistryā which just helps you feel safe and confident using the science lab. But I would need an email from at least 1 person who would be interested in doing that.
Alternatively, if someone just wanted to shoot me an email and say āhay, what sort of things could I do in the science lab that is really cool and not a waste of timeā I can work with them to do some really awesome stuff I have been learning lately.
The problem is, I simply donāt have the time I need available to get this section of the space running on my own. We need people who are willing to do cool things and maybe take some pride in helping grow the concept.
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