Look small, think big

Prep Scientists were lucky enough to benefit from a Royal Microscopical Society educational initiative this week, bringing microscopy into the classroom.

Through The Microscope Activity Kit Scheme Schools can borrow a Kit for a whole term which contains resources, microscopes and curriculum-mapped activities for the whole class to participate in.

This week the girls in Year 6 were continuing an investigation into mould and how it grows. The aim of their experiment was to observe how different conditions can affect the growth of mould on samples of bread and cheese. The samples the girls were looking at had all been kept in different ways – some in the freezer, some in a warm incubator, some with additional moisture and some just out in the open.

The girls’ task was to use the microscopes to look at the samples and record which conditions seemed to promote mould growth better than others.

It was a fascinating exercise for the girls, allowing them to appreciate how even small differences in conditions can have a big impact on results.