Science fair help raid drives/enclosure

[weatherrail]

Hello,
My 16 y/o son wants to do a science fair project dealing with arrays on a 6 to 8 raid drive system. Since he is not building a server for extended use he doesnt need large capacity or a high end system. Any ideas on a low cost enclosure, system & set of drives for him to use? Is there such a thing as renting a server or oaning for a few months? I lost my job so cannot afford much but do not want to squelch his talent. He has won several CS competitions in the past & I know he is worth the investment but am looking for options. Any helpful suggestions are appreciated.

 

[ss202sl]

I would try to talk to the IT guys at the school(or school system), and see if they could maybe provide(loan) some old drives for this. Maybe ask a local computer shop to "sponser" him and loan some hardware - Ask the teacher first.

 

[weatherrail]

Unfortunately for years he has been smarter than the school system tech guys. The teachers have been asking him for help since 6th grade. We live in a rural community with very limited tech resources.