It is May 2024 and in South Carolina that means the cicadas are out! The emergence of millions of Brood XIX 13 year periodical cicadas is happening right now. The skies are filled with the sounds of cicada calls, exoskeletons are everywhere, and discarded cicada wings litter the sidewalks. With all of these specimens available to me, I just had to look at cicadas under my Foldscope 2.0! Read on to find out what I saw!   Figure 1. Picture of cicadas in a tissue culture flask (Photo Credit: Holly A. Stuart) Brood XIX Cicadas There are two types of cicada: annual and periodical. Annual ..read more

Learn more about our international outreach efforts: Chile   Colombia India   Central India Madagascar Peru ..read more

I noticed a tuft of grass growing near the front of my house. The plant had purple fluffy seed heads that I wanted to look at under my Foldscope 2.0! Read on to find out what I saw!   Figure 1. Picture of a buffelgrass plant (Photo Credit: Holly A. Stuart)   Buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris) This particular species of grass is called buffelgrass. It is native to parts of Africa, Asia, and the Mediterranean. Buffelgrass is a drought tolerant plant with deep roots and fluffy seeds that can be dispersed by wind, water, or contact with animals. The seeds are what caught my attention ..read more

Question: Is it possible to color something that is invisible to the eye? When you look at a prepared slide, do you notice the brilliant colors? Those colors are usually not present in the actual specimen, but rather something that scientists add to the slide. In addition to being beautiful, they help us to better observe and understand the tiny structures that a microscope reveals through magnification. Read on for a fun way to let your students discover the science and beauty of histochemistry with a Foldscope 2.0 and MicroRealms Explorer Cards! Figure 1. Picture of a fern rhizom ..read more

Recently I came upon some small flowers growing in the grass. There were groups of them and while each had a bright yellow center, the outer edges of the petals were white, light purple, or fuchsia. Of course I had to put them under my Foldscope 2.0. Read on to learn how to prepare flower petals for microscopic observation and to see what I saw! Figure 1. Picture of flowers used for this blog (Photo Credit: Cameron L. Stuart)   Preparing flower petals for microscopy is a simple procedure that yields big results! If the flower petals are thin enough to let light pass through them, yo ..read more

Question: What color are leaves? Spring is the time of year when people begin growing their gardens. And the joy of seeing a seedling poking through the soil makes it worth the effort! With all of the plants beginning their growth cycles as winter’s cold starts to recede, it is the perfect time to take out your Foldscope, improve your close observation skills, and take a look at plant leaves. This activity works whether you have a classroom set of Foldscope 2.0s or Foldscope Minis. So grab your Foldscopes and read on for a fun way to get your students outside, making observations, an ..read more

As spring gets closer and closer, people with seasonal allergies begin reaching for tissues for their runny noses. I decided to do some microscopic explorations of tissues with my Foldscope 2.0. Read on to find out what I saw! Figure 1. Picture of a box of tissues (Photo Credit: Holly A. Stuart) What Are Tissues Made Of? The tissues I put under my Foldscope were soft to the touch and felt gentle on my nose. Which is why it can be hard to believe they are made from wood! The transformation from tree to tissue is a complicated process that leaves the tissue’s wood fibers hidden on the mac ..read more

It is March and spring flowers are starting to bloom. The flowers growing next to my house have prominent stamens topped with anthers covered in pollen. Of course, I wondered what the pollen would look like under my Foldscope! Figure 1. Picture of lenten-rose flower (Photo Credit: Holly A. Stuart) How to Make the Slide Pollen is best viewed as a dry mount slide. This means that the sample is placed directly on the slide without adding any liquid. Pollen is easy to put on a slide. Take a clear sticker and gently touch the sticky side to the anther of the flower to pick up some polle ..read more

Question: Do artificial flowers look like real flowers under a microscope? Figure 1. Picture of flower petals (real and artificial) viewed under a Foldscope at 140X magnification plus 5X zoom on phone (Photo Credit: Holly A. Stuart) Hands-on experiences are the best way to learn about the scientific world. Dr. Marie Clark Taylor understood this and promoted teaching botany by using real botanical samples and light microscopes in classrooms. Figure 2. Drawing of Dr. Marie Clark Taylor (Picture Credit: Color Me PhD) It is important for students to interact with real specimens to learn ..read more

In this blog, I put some flower petals under a Foldscope 2.0. What I saw absolutely blew me away! Figure 1. Picture of a bouquet of flowers (Photo Credit: Holly A. Stuart) Flowers Under a Microscope Usually in a biology class, plants are put under a microscope so students can learn about the different parts of the plant. Scientists observe the different structures of plants to get a better understanding of how they function. And while these activities are important, if you limit yourself to just studying cellular structures, you will miss out on the beauty of the microscopic world ..read more