Community Microscope Kit
Using simple materials, we’ve developed a microscope kit you can build yourself - the result of many teams’ work coming together!
Introducing the Community Microscope
Explore the invisible microscopic world around you with an affordable microscope kit you construct yourself!
When you get a kit, please use the hashtags #communitymicroscope and #communityscience to post your unboxing and build photos -- and tag us with @PublicLab on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
Questions
Assembly
| Purpose | Category | Status | Author | Time | Difficulty | Replications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community Microscope Assembly Instructions | - | - | @Bronwen | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Add a high-quality webcam to your Community Microscope kit using LEGO | - | - | @warren | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Assembling the Raspberry Pi Microscope | - | - | @Bronwen | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Microscope Webcam Conversion | - | - | @Bronwen | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Make stages for the Community Microscope Kit | - | - | @imvec | - | - | 1 replications: Try it » |
| Lighting Your Sample | - | - | @partsandcrafts | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
Activities should include a materials list, costs and a step-by-step guide to construction with photos. Learn what makes a good activity here.
You can also find lasercut and 3d printing files for the kit here: https://github.com/publiclab/community-microscope
Using your microscope
| Purpose | Category | Status | Author | Time | Difficulty | Replications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Testing and Calibrating Your Microscope | - | - | @partsandcrafts | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Looking at Dust (and other things) | - | - | @partsandcrafts | - | - | 3 replications: Try it » |
| Infrared Insect Microscopy | - | - | @MaggPi | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Imagining & testing Polarized Light Microscopy for Silica dust speciation | - | - | @mathew | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Raspberry PI NoIR close-up Imaging | - | - | @MaggPi | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Use of a 5$ bill for microscope calibration | - | - | @amirberAgain | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Microscope calibration overlays… What’s the best approach? | - | - | @MaggPi | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Experiment with polarizing filters to view crystalline dust | - | - | @warren | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| A Prototype Paper Stage for the Microscope | - | - | @mimiss | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
Activities should include a materials list, costs and a step-by-step guide to construction with photos. Learn what makes a good activity here.
Challenges
| Title | Author | Updated | Likes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Can the Community Microscope analyze ocean microplastics? | @jiteovien | over 6 years ago | 3 | 7 |
| What do respirable silica particles (frac sand pollution) look like? | @warren | almost 7 years ago | 1 | 5 |
| What are some ways to collect dust or particulate samples for analysis? | @warren | about 7 years ago | 1 | 4 |
| Is it possible to accurately size inhalable and respirable particles using a DIY microscope? | @gretchengehrke | over 7 years ago | 0 | 4 |
| Is it possible to discern jagged from rounded particles using a DIY microscope? | @gretchengehrke | over 7 years ago | 0 | 4 |
| Are there any methods to distinguish where particulate matter in the air comes from? | @stevie | over 7 years ago | 0 | 4 |
Prototyping
Ongoing work on the design of the Community Microscope Kit can be found here:
| Title | Author | Updated | Likes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Prototype Paper Stage for the Microscope | @mimiss | over 5 years ago | 2 | 1 |
| Integrating User instructions into the Community Microscope build materials | @jiteovien | about 6 years ago | 4 | 3 |
| Microscope calibration overlays… What’s the best approach? | @MaggPi | over 6 years ago | 3 | 4 |
| USB Webcam vs Raspberry Pi V2 Field of View (FOV) comparison / Community microscope initial evaluation #2 | @MaggPi | over 6 years ago | 3 | 6 |
| Community Microscope Initial Evaluation | @MaggPi | over 6 years ago | 3 | 8 |
Media
Want to remix your own? Here's a link to a shared document where you can compose your own images for sharing:
Please use the hashtags #communitymicroscope and #communityscience -- and tag us with @PublicLab on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
Also see this larger collection of images in Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gyznzckh53u0255/AAAY5iuo3LyWFUmELugGQNR0a?dl=0