MicroscopyEducation
Mrs. Diane Fairweather, Head of
Science at Riverstone Highschool, said the program allowed students to access cutting-edge technology: “Tis was a great STEM initiative by IMC19 and an amazing experience for the students who came. We don’t have these micro- scopes at our school, and without the IMC19 Outreach Program, most of our students wouldn’t be able to use this equipment. Our students are engaged; they are learning directly from experts on things like using the lens to focus— it’s a real hands-on experience.”
Vendor and Academic Volunteers To plan and execute such a detailed
Figure 4: A student comes to grips with the interactive virtual environment inside a metastasizing breast cancer cell. Annotations pop up throughout the VR space to guide users in their exploration. Interactive Display: Journey to Centre of Cell VR experience. An immersive virtual cancer cell environment modeled from electron microscopy data. Credit: A/Prof. John McGhee (UNSW), Mr. John Bailey (UNSW), Prof. Rob Parton (UQ), Dr. Angus Johnston (Monash) - (CBNS Research) [1].
As shown in Figure 5, tooth and coral samples were printed at up to 5×magnification based on MicroCT datasets. Tis allowed students to explore details of the samples they would not otherwise be able to visualize in 3D. Students were then able to take the samples back to their school for further analy- sis and discussion. We felt this was a great opportunity to show how we can use technology to produce scaled-up versions of our samples, which can then be used for teaching and demon- stration long-term. With more time available, a much larger, higher-resolution sample could also be produced, but printing at this low magnification allowed classes to observe the process from beginning to end. Tis process also gave students ideas about how we might be able to scale up micro-structural fea- tures to perform macro-structural functions. Each class was seen off with sample replicates and giſts from the conference. It was really pleasing to hear students still talking enthusiasti- cally about what they saw and asking their teacher questions as they walked back down the stairs aſter their visit.
Program Evaluation Without feedback, it is hard to know for sure how well
these events went. To get some data on this, surveys were issued to both teach-
ers and students who attended. Whilst teachers can give you very constructive feedback, students can give the brutal assess- ment you require to make genuine improvements. Although the feedback from teachers was more positive than that of students (Table 1), the overall feedback indicates that the experience motivated students to consider a future in STEM.
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Figure 5: 3D printed tooth and coral samples given to students, highlight- ing the ease with which microstructural aspects can be brought into the macro-world.
www.microscopy-today.com • 2019 March
program required a significant effort. However, with significant outlays typi- cally required to coordinate delegates, vendors, registration, catering, venue booking and setup, it is oſten difficult to commit to an outreach program that would rival the immersive experience of a science and technology museum. Nevertheless, the Outreach Learning Space was by any measure a successful and stimulating venture. Tis would not have been possible without
the
commitment of more than 20 individuals who voluntarily took time out of their research and industry roles to bring this expe- rience together. To help classes make a full day (or week) of their visit, surrounding attractions also provided discounted and specialized programs to school and delegate visitors. Also instrumental in the program’s success were the involve- ment of Zeiss, Leica, NewSpec, AXT, Coherent, ATA, UNSW
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