Storage and tracking of the inventory represents an extremely insufficient and expensive mode of utilizing apparatus and space. The design and construction of instructional laboratories is often dominated by the necessity for large numbers of storage drawers or lockers. This does not include the cost of securing and storing the equipment or replacing broken or lost items. Even if a multi-use system is created, the cost of purchasing and replacing broken glassware is prohibitive. At Colorado State University, we are able to store equipment for 100 students in a small cupboard.
Many students opt to keep their kit and bring it to the laboratory each time.
In summary, the cost for a TC student drawer of equipment is roughly 32 times higher than the cost of a SSC kit and this comparison does not include the cost of storing and securing the equipment. Capital laboratory equipment costs for the other expensive instrumentation such as balances, spectrometers and pH meters is much less for SSC because students often build their own instruments. The number of other instruments required, such as analytical balances and hot plates, can be reduced because of the small footprint of containers in SSC and the ease of weighing and heating small amounts. In summary, the total cost for the basic inventory of laboratory instrumentation is about four times higher for traditional chemistry than Small-Scale chemistry. Content correlation was achieved for 14 major topic areas, but often there was not a correlating traditional experiment for topics covered in many SSC experimental series presented in the CSU course.