Erik and I brought our cool new microscope over to the MSU Child Development Center (ages 3 - 6). The kids went on a collecting trip before we got there and found some cool plants, feathers, and insects; we brought some fresh stream sediment. We looked for microbial eukaryotes in the sediment, zoomed in on some tiny flowers and pine needles, and got some really close looks at beetles, lady bugs, and spiders. Lots of fun!!!

Erik Anderson, my future graduate student (August 2015), shows local 5th graders how cool the world looks through a microscope. Our new Leica dissecting scope takes photos/videos and looks great through the monitor. The kids thought the flatworms, mayflies, and cavity-ridden teeth were super cool.