Microscopes in Middle Schools Project

image of microscope As part of its wide-ranging education program, the Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education (C-MORE), based at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, is partnering with the Hawaii State Department of Education (DOE) and the UH Fostering Inspiration and Relevance through Science and Technology (FIRST) Pre-Academy Initiative to distribute digital video microscopes and related supplies (valued at $1775) to Hawai‘i’s public middle schools statewide.

The oceans are of vital importance to life on Earth: they regulate climate, provide food and oxygen and cycle essential chemical elements and compounds. Marine microbes are the drivers of these ocean processes. For example, phytoplankton (plant-like plankton) forms the base of the marine food web and produce over half the oxygen that we breathe. However, phytoplankton and other microbes can be difficult to conceptualize because they cannot be seen without specialized equipment.

So, how do you get students interested in learning about something they can’t even see? One way is to start with something they can see! If you go up one step in the food web from phytoplankton, you’ll find zooplankton. Zooplankton are a diverse group of organisms that feed upon smaller phytoplankton or other zooplankton, or are parasites. Some zooplankton spend their entire lives drifting in the sea. Others only spend part of their life cycle as plankton and then grow up to become fish, crabs, corals or lobsters. Zooplankton can be easily caught and studied right from shore. After completing this workshop, teachers will be able to collect, observe and study plankton with their students through inquiry driven projects.

Photo of a girls with plankton net. Workshop locations and dates

Participating schools that received a microscope (as of 11/2012)

  • Aliamanu Middle
  • Ānuenue
  • Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle
  • Ewa Makai Middle
  • Hālau Kū Māna
  • Hana High & Intermediate
  • Hawaii Academy of Arts & Science
  • Hawaii School for the Deaf and Blind
  • Highlands Intermediate
  • Hilo Intermediate
  • Honoka‘a High & Intermediate
  • Innovations
  • Jarrett Middle
  • Kahuku High & Intermediate
  • Kailua Intermediate
  • Kaimuki Middle
  • Kanu o ka ‘Āina
  • Kapa‘a Middle
  • Kapolei Middle
  • Kawananakoa Middle
  • Ke Kula ‘O Nāwahīokalani‘ōpu‘u
  • Ke Kula ‘o Samuel M. Kamakau
  • Kea‘au Middle
  • King Intermediate
  • Lahaina Intermediate
  • Lana‘i High & Elementary
  • Lokelani Intermediate
  • Maui Waena Intermediate
  • Mililani Middle
  • Moanalua Middle
  • Molokai Middle
  • Nanakuli High & Intermediate
  • Niu Valley Middle
  • Olomana
  • Pa‘auilo Elementary & Intermediate
  • Pahoa High & Intermediate
  • Wahiawa Middle
  • Waiakea Intermediate
  • Waialua High & Intermediate
 Teacher using video microscope.
  • Waikoloa Elementary & Middle
  • Waimea Canyon Middle
  • Waimea Middle
  • Waipahu Intermediate
  • Washington Middle
  • West Hawaii Explorations Academy
  • Wheeler Middle

News links

Photo of a foram.

Foram specimen collected off Waikiki on 01 March 2012. (Photo credit Alyssa Gundersen, Sea Grant).

Supplies provided

Resources

NOTE: If you have trouble downloading a file, please first try using a different browser (FireFox, Internet Explorer, Safari, Chrome, Opera, etc.) Still having problems? Contact foleyj@hawaii.edu.

For more information

To receive workshop information, to sign up, or to be added to our mailing list, please contact Jim Foley (foleyj@hawaii.edu or 956-7739) with your name, school, and contact information.

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