Posted on Monday, February 24th, 2014 by Will Hagle
Experiment offers users the chance to join the largest online community pushing the frontier of human knowledge.
Experiment.com is exactly what it sounds like: an online experiment. The specific experiment being conducted is to discover whether or not science can be democratized. 
The site aims to free scientific experimentation from the confines of government laboratories and closed university campuses. Experiment is pushing the idea of “indie science,” or the fact that scientific research can be conducted by anyone. It explains that famous contributors to science, such as Charles Darwin, Johannes Kepler and Tycho Brahe, were both independent and amateur when undergoing their research and experimentation. The site offers a crowdfunding platform for ambitious scientific researchers to fund their projects. So far, many projects have been successfully funded and completed through the site.
Help Fund Something Important.The way Experiment works is similar to crowdfunding platforms like IndieGoGo or Kickstarter, but scientific research is what’s being pitched by users instead of creative projects. Researchers thoroughly explain their projects that need funding, and they share that information to fundraise and spread awareness. Supporters of a particular project are rewarded with scientific insight after the project is completed. If a project is completely supported, the researcher receives his or her funding, and supporters’ credit cards are charged. Experiment takes an 8% fee. Starting a project on the site is simple to set-up, but browsing through other researchers’ projects and deciding what exciting, innovative research to support is fun, too. The site offers an exciting new approach to science, and allows for people that have a specific interest in or curiosity regarding the research of a particular topic to actively help further those research goals.
