Australia's Science Forum

Hi gang,
How do people store their charts? Ours are rolled up and sit on top of a flammable storage cupboard!
Ellice

We have a book room (well cupboard really, about 2m x 3m with shelves on 2 sides and a hook on the third wall).
On this we have the large charts hanging and small ones on a hook behind the door.
They are seldom used, I think the only one that is ever used is the Periodic Table and that by one teacher once a year.

We have so many unused resources and the teachers only seem to go with what they have used previous years and not willing to take the time to look for or try anything else.

Especially the Data loggers!

We have ours rolled up in a milk crate laying down on a shelf. They take up so much space and like fibreweb, they never get used. I have asked if I can throw them out but I'm always told "we only don't use them because we don't know what's there!" Well, I did a list up a couple of years ago for that very reason and it has NEVER been looked at so I have shifted them to a high shelf out of the way as much as possible... Sorry this doesn't really help you, buy the milk crate is actually pretty good for keeping them rolled up and not falling out. I wrote on the outside of each one in a corner what it is so teachers can see without unrolling them.

We recently bought a Wallfile system from Southern Biological. It took us a while to get it fixed into the wall well enough to hold the weight. Every time we put it on it pulled the screws out of the wall. It seems to be holding well now (the groundsmen did something with big screws!) and it looks good. However couldn't comment on the longevity of the system as it is too new. We are going to buy a second one though as we decided the number of charts and posters we have is too much for one.

I used a large flat screen TV carton. Measured the width of the posters and cut. I cut the back out of the other side and slid it into the longest one. Glued it in place and painted it. A piece of flat steel on an angle goes in - holds about 80 A1 size posters. Larger ones go into a smaller flat screen TV carton (uncut). Both are stored in the staffroom and the posters now get used.

I have a Wallfile rack from Southern Bio in my prep too, it's a brilliant system & holds over 50 posters

We have had one of those wallfile sysems for years. At one stage the little clear stick on holders came off the heavier posters (I already had put double on some heavy ones), but it is a good system. Posters don't get used here either, now. I think I would be more inclined to chuck all posters out than buy a new wallfile system. Everything is on computers now, and only the periodic table is used periodically.

We bought some pdf posters from a company called Graphic Education. All our teachers have macbooks and there are projectors in the labs so it is easy to project the poster instead. I thought they were a great idea but I don't think they get used much either. Every time I mention them the teachers say "I forgot about those". The periodic table one is good though as they can talk about it and point things out on the whiteboard.
I used to try and change the posters in each lab at the beginning of term to reflect what they were going to be studying. This year I have found that the way the classes are timetabled into the labs there are too many different classes in each lab to do this. And I don't have time.

Thanks for the suggestions. I like the idea of the Wallfile, and will suggest this for the new storage area.

I have more than one Wallfile. I have 3 fixed to walls around the place and one "mobile" unit, that leans against the wall in one of my labs. They are brilliant - easy to use, easy to install, and I'll be able to relocate them to my new labs, whenever they get finished!

I took the cheapskate option for hanging posters. I put a curtain rod between the metal bays in the store room, brought wire coat hangers and pegs and I hang the posters off them.
Estelle

AnnNos wrote:I used a large flat screen TV carton. Measured the width of the posters and cut. I cut the back out of the other side and slid it into the longest one. Glued it in place and painted it. A piece of flat steel on an angle goes in - holds about 80 A1 size posters. Larger ones go into a smaller flat screen TV carton (uncut). Both are stored in the staffroom and the posters now get used.

Hi there,
would you be able to post a photo of your poster storage boxes? Trying to see if it's something I could do for our posters. Thanks heaps.