The Public Lab Desktop Spectrometry Kit 3.0 includes all the parts for a compact, simple, experimental tool -- a visible/near-infrared spectrometer, also known as a spectroscope or spectrophotometer. In less than 30 minutes of assembly, you can plug it into your computer with a USB cable and begin using the free SpectralWorkbench.org software and website to collect spectra -- the "fingerprint" of a material.