Bobby Holley © 2008
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Your overall concept is neat. As you point out in your business plan, Science Share's very specific mission gives it a unique territory that is not covered by any other website out there. That being said, I think you might want to consider broadening your focus a little bit. With a few modifications, the site could also serve as a resource for middle school clubs as well as elementary school clubs (the only thing really required is a section containing slightly more advanced material). Finally, you should think about adding a section of materials for high school students to further their own knowledge. This could be somewhat tricky since you would need someone with more expertise (probably university level) to design the worksheets and curriculum. Nevertheless, if you can manage to get college students involved, I think it would be great to let those running the clubs be on the receiving end of knowledge as well. I for one would have loved to have been exposed to something like Fourier analysis in high school, even if it were only on a very superficial level.
This is not to say that you should drop your focus on elementary school clubs. After all, that's what makes Science Share unique. Rather, I think that it might be possible to utilize the framework you have in place to reach other audiences and to reach your current audience in different ways. With the right organization of the website, I think this is doable without diminishing the experience for your core audience.
Your business plan is great. You clearly put a lot of thought into it and delved into the details of what it will actually take to make Science Share work. I really like the analysis of your website in the competitive sphere - you've definitely sold me on the need for a site like Science Share to fill the gap in what's out there.
Overall, I think your website is well-organized and visually pleasing. You've picked a cohesive color scheme and stuck to it, making the site look smooth and professional. However, I do have a few suggestions. First, you should consider changing your header graphic to something that better represents the purpose of your site. When I first looked at the photo, I thought the two people were standing in front of a fenced compound with rifles leaning against the wall. Even once figured out that they were in a room with window blinds, it still doesn't evoke any images relating to science or mathematics. You have a great photo in your Club Highlight section that gets across your mission perfectly: an older boy is helping a young girl as she writes on a worksheet. As such, I think it would make a much more effective header graphic.
As you begin to add more resources and worksheets, you may want to organize them based on their target audience. There are huge differences in the abilities and background knowledge of first graders and fifth graders. For example, a worksheet on fractions might be advanced for a second grader but trivial for a fifth grader. This type of organization would be especially important if you decide to expand the scope of your site as I suggested above.
Before you start building up a serious base of material and resources, you should give some thought to copyright and licensing. For instance, if you decide to modify or build upon a worksheet, you might need to get the author's permission first if no stipulations are attached to submission. As such, I urge you to check out licenses such as the Creative Commons License or the GNU Free Documentation License. If you require all submissions to be distributable under a 'copyleft' license, it may save you serious headaches later on.