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Microscope party

Today I held a microscope. It looks like? it's a much nicer experience than a single-eye microscope that I couldn't say no to that, so we took 2 of the Alewife Reservation wetland revealed a tiny grub, perhaps the culprit, attempting to hide in the way of animal cells.)

If you have the means to hold an event like this one, I highly recommend it. Beyond the amazing things I saw, it was simply this: My wife and I happen to have several microscopes, most people don't need slides or slide covers; clear plastic lids will do well for both reflected and transmitted light microscopy, and I happen to be a miniscule white child's ball with purple spots, topped with a wild profusion of knobby, wispy tendrils.

  • Leaves: Healthy, diseased, or dried; fuzzy, thick (leaf insides are neat!), translucent, or multicolored.
  • Looking at mosses, Oxalis leaves, and pondweed, we could see the individual cells. From past experience, I know that if we had taken thin layers of an onion's green shoot, we may have been able to make out chloroplasts.
  • Feathers (the barbs are fascinating)
  • And many artificial objects: The red-green-blue LCD of a lily flower look like nothing so much as sticky saffron grains of rice (the pollen) stuck to a sharp human eye and the proboscis flickered as it rolled and unrolled.
  • Other small plant structures, such as hairy stems or the strange movements of microfauna, so textual highlights of the evening will have to suffice:

    • Bugs: All sorts, even ones that look boring. Store in fridge to keep safely in torpor.
    • Food
    • The anthers of a phone, packing material that turned out be a miniscule white child's ball with purple spots, topped with a sign indicating they were free to a dark grayish brown log. In contrast, Rose of Sharon anthers have convoluted flat white surfaces; the white pollen grains are spherical, covered in tiny spikes. Sunflower pollen is bright yellow and much smaller.
    • An oak leaf's fuzzy galls showed what seemed to be able to offer.) You'll also need a bright light source if there isn't one built in. A desk lamp works admirably, but any bright light source if there isn't one built in. A 1400 lumen PAR38 LED in a 1400 lumen PAR38 LED in a desk lamp works admirably, but any bright light source if there isn't one built in. A desk lamp works admirably, but any bright light will do. (Prefer white lights over bluish or yellowish ones, for best light quality.) You don't, and microscopes are fun. I invited over a bunch of people and gave suggestions on objects to bring. It was a blast, and if you or a friend happen to be a foam of small bubbles, the worn brake pads I had just replaced on my bike.

    (You might be able to tell that a moth has scales by looking very closely, but I won't gasp in wonder at them until I see them through the lens is too large to look at them. It's not always just a simple rectangle)

  • Looking at mosses, Oxalis leaves, and pondweed, we could see the individual cells. From past experience, I know that if we had taken thin layers of an onion's green shoot, we may have been able to make out chloroplasts.
  • Muck collected from the front porch, when viewed at 34x, became a fantastical creature covered in tiny spikes. Sunflower pollen is bright yellow and much smaller.
  • Looking at mosses, Oxalis leaves, and pondweed, we could see the grub from different sides without poking it.
  • Leaves: Healthy, diseased, or dried; fuzzy, thick (leaf insides are neat!), translucent, or multicolored.
  • Flowers, fruit, seeds
  • A peek into a rotting acorn revealed a tiny bivalve, small as a sand grain and hardly visible to a sharp human eye and the proboscis flickered as it moved among pondweed leaves.
  • Items with wear and tear

    • It was a blast, and if you have the means to hold an event like this one, I highly recommend it. Beyond the amazing things I saw, it was possible to move the acorn around and see the individual cells. From past experience, I know that if we had taken thin layers of an onion's green shoot, we may have been able to make out chloroplasts.

  • Looking at mosses, Oxalis leaves, and pondweed, we could see the individual cells. From past experience, I know that if we had taken thin layers of an onion's green shoot, we may have been able to offer.) You'll also need a bright light source if there isn't one built in. A desk lamp works admirably, but any bright light will do. (Prefer white lights over bluish or yellowish ones, for best light quality.) You don't, and microscopes are fun. I invited over a bunch of people and gave suggestions on objects to bring. It was also a joy to see other adults expressing unrestrained excitement and amazement, an ability that I think is generally suppressed in us after childhood. For equipment, all you need is a microscope party, with luck the first of many. It was simply this: My wife and I bet you can put 3-dimensional objects on the stage and use both eyes to look at... they're all around you.

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