November 22, 2017, by Wan Yong Ho
Exploring Science Using Microscope at KLESF 2017
UNMC Royal Microscopical Society (RMS) taskforce from the Department of Biomedical Sciences organized an activity named ‘Exploring Science Using Microscope’ at the Kuala Lumpur Engineering and Science Fair (KLESF) 2017
Date: 3rd, 4th and 5th November 2017
Venue: MINES International Exhibition and Convention Centre (MIECC)
The main objective of this activity was to promote the learning of science using microscope. During the 3-day exhibition, over 500 visitors from various local primary and secondary schools visited our booth each day and had hands-on experience on our microscopes.
Best shot of the day – A school kid in his lab coat at the microscope station.
Our activity was divided into two stations:
1) Promoting science using microscope which was targeting at the primary school students aged 6 – 12 years old
The first station focused on the use of RMS microscope kits in which the visitors were taught on how to use the microscope to visualise various samples, including sugar, sand, flower, insects etc. Besides, the school principals and teachers were encouraged to organize field trip to the campus to engage with our RMS on-campus activities. They were also encouraged to lend our RMS microscope kits to be used in their own schools for teaching activities.
A pair of siblings exploring various objects under magnification with the RMS microscope kit.
2) Tracking the worms under the microscope where the target population was secondary school students aged 13 – 18 years old.
The second station exhibited the soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, which is widely used as a host model in the field of biomedical researches to study various diseases. We showed two strains of C. elegans with two different phenotypes, the wild-type N2 strain and the transgenic strain (daf-16::gfp rolling worms). For this station, the light compound microscopes were used with the hope to increase the exposure of secondary students to this type of microscope. The student helpers were there to provide oral explanation to the visitors regarding the background of C. elegans, including their life-cycle, medical importance and some interesting facts about this fascinatinig host model. Some parents and teachers were also attracted by our exhibition and did not hesitate to queue with students to get a glimpse of the microscopic view of the samples. By looking at the expression of the visitors, we can definitely tell that they were very excited looking at the moving worms under the microscope and had so much fun at our booth.
Parents feeling excited when looking at the worms under the microscopes.
Overall, the 3-days exhibition was a successful event. The UNMC-RMS taskforce would like to express our deepest appreciation to the KLESF 2017 organizing committee for inviting us to participate in the fair. We would also like to thank Professor Ting Kang-Nee, the UNMC-RMS advisor and the Head of Department of Biomedical Sciences; and Dr. Kong Cin, Alice, for their advice during the activities planning. Besides, we would like to thank Miss Asma and Miss Josephine for helping in the preparation of equipment and worm strains. Not to forget to thank Mr. Wong Siak Chung, Mr. Jonathan and other supporting staffs in coordinating the transport and supporting services. Last but not least, we would like to thank all the student helpers for making this event a successful one. We hope to continue such meaningful activities in the future.
One of our student helpers, Noreen Tan guided the kids on how use the microscope kit.
Article by: Chong Zhi Xiong (BMS year 3 student)
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