Monday, December 1, 2008

Great Finds for Microscope Minds

FREE access to a scanning electron microscope!! What former-science-teacher-now-technology-specialist could resist? While looking for more ideas for our Digital Blue microscopes I found a fabulous website called Bugscope. The "project provides free interactive access to a scanning electron microscope (SEM) so that students anywhere in the world can explore the microscopic world of insects. This educational outreach program from the Beckman Institute's Imaging Technology Group at the University of Illinois supports K-16 classrooms worldwide."

Students mail insects to them, teachers schedule a time for viewing your specimens online, and you all get to have an online chat with members of their team. They provide tutorials and more resources for teachers, so go take a look! By the time classes are ready for insect lessons in the spring, we will have plans and schedules in place. We can't wait to compare the pictures from the different microscopes - and hopefully tiny critters from different regions. Plan ahead and collaborate with us at elementarytechteachers .

Don't forget - microscope projects work great on interactive whiteboards too.

Another great find for microscopes - check these awesome activities, resources, time lines and much more at
http://www.microscopy.fsu.edu/optics/activities/students/index.html

See more reviews and prices for the microscope.