Book Review: Bringing Science into Focus
Microscopes are among the most recognizable and ubiquitous of all scientific tools. Yet few people outside of science or engineering are familiar with how microscopes work or feel comfortable using one. This perception is illustrated clearly in one of Gary Larson's well-known cartoons, which features a “yussie” (young urban scientist) showing off his new car microscope. The message is clear: Microscopes are part of a separate world that has different values and different “toys.”
Microscopic Explorations, a GEMS Festival Teacher's Guide, by Susan Brady and Carolyn Willard, helps dispel these misconceptions by providing a detailed blueprint for a science festival that uses microscopes as a unifying theme, while also supplying a variety of hands-on activities appropriate for use as individual lessons in classrooms. When the activities are used as part of a science festival, students (and/or other participants) move from station to station as they conduct hands-on explorations designed to develop science knowledge and skills. At each station, students are challenged to solve a puzzle or answer a question that helps to increase their understanding of science concepts. Teachers, students, or other volunteers guide activities at the stations, but participants are encouraged to make important discoveries for themselves. As noted by the authors, science festivals are effective exploratory experiences that build the confidence and enthusiasm students need to undertake more in-depth investigations. And when conducted with families, the festivals can be important catalysts of community support and involvement in school science instruction.
However, the planning and production of a large-scale science event can be a daunting task, even for an experienced science teacher or outreach partner. Add a theme that involves a poorly understood and potentially scarce resource, microscopes, and few might be brave enough to tackle the job. Fortunately, Microscopic Explorations provides a wealth of detailed information that guides the reader through all stages of the event: planning, coordinating volunteers, obtaining necessary materials, setting up stations, and managing the festival. The book also describes alternative scenarios that allow the format to be adapted for use as a school program for multiple classes, an evening program for parents and community members, or a combination school day and evening event. The guide is aimed at teachers of students in grades 4–8.
At the same time, Microscopic Explorations, which was created in collaboration with the Microscopic Society of America, provides an excellent introduction to important science and mathematics skills and concepts, such as observing, comparing, measuring, recording data, and inferring. Although the title emphasizes microscopy, activities described in the book actually cover a broad range of science topics. Students practice using magnifiers by observing fingerprints, investigate printing and colors by examining dots of colored ink on printed pages, compare different ways of intermingling fibers to create cloth, use information about shapes to compare and identify mystery powders, and observe tiny living creatures such as brine shrimp and those found in pond water.
The guide aims to demystify microscopes for both students and teachers. Introductory activities, intended to be conducted in whole-class settings before students participate in the science festival, cover concepts related to optics and magnification. For example, students observe how water drops act as tiny magnifiers. Students have opportunities to extend their knowledge by predicting whether a square or round clear container (filled with water) will magnify printed letters. Finally, students compare the curved surfaces of the water drop and clear rounded container to the convex surfaces of a magnifier. Students also are introduced to microscopes in class prior to participating in the festival and are given opportunities to use one to make simple observations. Clearly labeled line drawings of compound and dissecting microscopes are included as reproducible black-line masters for use in class. Particularly ingenious are the instructions for creating a“ hole-punch” microscope slide, which provides an inexpensive and safe alternative to glass slides.
The authors propose organizing the science festival itself around 10–12 basic learning stations. As described in the guide, each station will handle four to six students at a time. Thus, a festival with 12 stations can accommodate 48–72 students. Students rotate from station to station at will or at designated time intervals. At least one volunteer per station also is recommended. The proposed time line for planning and preparing the festival is comprehensive, as are the “tips” for recruiting and orienting volunteers. These useful sections reflect extensive testing and experience by the developers with the science festival model.
Instructions for the activities to take place at each station also are clear and thorough enough for even a novice science festival organizer to be successful. The description of each learning station activity contains an overview of the underlying science, technology, or mathematics concepts, lists all necessary supplies and materials, and includes reproducible black-line masters of instructions and questions for students. Also included are instructions for creating simple, stand-up backboards for each station using manila folders.
The “Tips for Managing the Station,” written for each station, are particularly insightful. Detailed suggestions include reminders such as“ Students may crowd around the table.... Be firm about enforcing the `maximum of six students at a time' rule,” and “double-check that the hot pot cord is taped down.” Such instructions provide valuable practical guidance for volunteers who may not be very familiar with the activities or with working with groups of students.
Some of the station activities are relatively standard (for example, creating a fingerprint by rubbing a fingertip over pencil scribble and then pressing it on a piece of tape). However, the applications of the activities are unique. In the case of the fingerprint, students compare their own fingerprints to diagrams of standard fingerprint patterns and ridges. They also apply their knowledge to see if they can find any differences between two fingerprints that are displayed.
Also included is a reproducible black-line master for a “Microscopic Explorations Student Observation Booklet” that students can use at each station to record and keep their observations. Detailed background information for teachers and parents is provided in the “Behind the Scenes” section. While teachers could use the festival as a springboard to in-depth learning experiences on any number of topics, the format seems best suited to introducing students to important science skills, such as observing and comparing, rather than to specific science content areas. With so many topics—ranging from the geometry of common kitchen powders to pond life—users will have no difficulty connecting the science festival to their ongoing science curricula.
Festival organizers might have difficulty obtaining enough microscopes. Eight of the 10 basic stations require at least two microscopes. The activities at each station can be carried out with either compound microscopes on low power (40× or lower) or dissecting scopes. The authors suggest that both types of microscope be available at some stations, so students can compare the information provided by each. However, as described, the festival can be conducted successfully with one type or the other.
The book describes alternative setups that require only 8 or 12 microscopes, but even this is more microscopes than many elementary—and even some middle—schools will have on hand. The authors recommend that festival organizers contact 1 of 30 local or regional Microscopy Society of America (MSA) chapters for assistance. However, many organizers will not be located close to an MSA chapter. In this instance, more concrete advice on how to find resources within a school district or how to borrow microscopes from a high school (who to ask and what to ask for) would have been useful. Detailed instructions on selecting and purchasing microscopes are included. Surprisingly, the newer, very sturdy elementary-type microscopes with a sliding focus are not mentioned. These microscopes feature a cast aluminum body, a brass focus, and excellent optics (20× or greater magnification) and use ambient light for illumination. Now also offered by other manufacturers, the original Magiscope can be obtained from Brock Optical, Inc. ( www.magiscope.com).
The guide contains a comprehensive list of print resources and videotapes on microscopes and microscopy. It also presents a list of World Wide Web resources, which is kept current via a link to the Project Micro web site of the MSA. Only upon following this link does the reader become fully aware of the MSA's degree of involvement with Microscopic Explorations. Project Micro, a precollege outreach program of the MSA, is using the Microscopic Explorations guide as part of a national effort to involve its members in helping teachers bring “real” science into the classroom. Given the success of other installments in Lawrence Hall of Science's GEMS (Great Explorations in Math and Science) series, the potential of Microscopic Explorations to stimulate local science education partnerships also is high.
The National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996), which provide benchmarks for student science learning and the science educational system, note that, “[Scientists] must take the time to become informed about what is expected in science education in schools and then take active roles in support of policies to strengthen science education in their local communities.” As noted by the MSA, Microscopic Explorations provides a template for scientists' involvement in school science education. Even though the guide is directed more toward teachers than scientists, it will be valuable for scientists interested in working with local elementary and middle schools.
Shortly after receiving a copy of the guide to review, our outreach team actually used the activities in Microscopic Explorations as part of a demonstration workshop on science festivals for elementary teachers and scientists participating in Baylor College of Medicine's Science Education Leadership Fellows (SELF) program. Participants in the program are expected to conduct family science nights at local elementary schools. To help them understand the science festival concept, SELF project staff set up a mock science festival in a large room using the Microscopic Explorations activities. Preparation for the “downsized” version of the festival took less than half a day. The adult participants in the mock festival enjoyed the activities and even filled in their own Student Observation Booklets. Each teacher and scientist who attended also received a copy of the guide. The consensus from participants was that the Microscopic Explorations template would be useful for the production of science festivals on a variety of themes, not just microscopy.
Although orchestrating a schoolwide science event might seem overwhelming at first, Microscopic Explorations, a GEMS Festival Teacher's Guide, provides a comprehensive blueprint for planning and conducting a successful science festival. The interesting student activities outlined in the guide are carefully focused (no pun intended) on using microscopes to draw students into the world of science. Assuming that a school can obtain sufficient numbers of microscopes, Microscopic Explorations should be effective with teachers of all experience levels. At the same time, scientists or teachers who are looking for individual lessons related to magnification and microscopy will find a variety of activities that will fit into almost any school's science curriculum.
