Use tablet microscopes and LegoScope to enhance science education.
California Academy of Sciences; San Francisco Friends School; American Society for Cell Biology; New Orleans Public Schools
Classrooms
CellScope
UC Berkeley
In collaboration with the San Francisco Friends School we brought CellScope into the classroom. The driving force behind this project was Saber Khan, a middle school Science teacher, who engaged his students in learning about microscopy and biology with CellScope.
They put together a 'How-to' video to illustrate the ease of use of CellScope. The 'Micro-Macro' project brought the CellScope out of the classroom and into students' homes, gardens, and neighborhoods to take microscopic images of everyday objects. The images were geotagged and posted on a google map.
We were lucky to collaborate with the American Society of Cell Biology (ASCB) to take the project to the next level. In 2013 ASCB members donated money so we could build 10 iPad scopes for two public schools in New Orleans.
In a collaboration of CellScope with the University of San Francisco (UCSF) and the design and innovation firm IDEO we e
xplored the possibility to actively involve students in learning about the inner workings of microscopes. To this end Harrison Liu, Reid Williams and Michael Sachs, all graduate students at UCSF, took the lead in developing LEGOscope, a microscope built out of LEGOs (the colorful, interlocking plastic bricks that bring back fond memories of our childhood) combined with only a few 3D printed parts that hold optical components in place.
This video demonstrates the ease of assembly of LEGOscope.
Follow LegoScope on Facebook and on their blog.