A revolutionary teaching microscope will be introduced into the introductory biology laboratory classroom as part of a major revision of the curriculum. The efficiency and dramatic effect of this instrument has been demonstrated in a pilot project, Exploring Microstructures: Introducing Biology Students and Teachers to Images, Tools and Applications of High-Tech Microscopy. The technologically-advanced microscope consists of a tiny, hand-held, self-illuminated video camera with interchangeable magnifying lenses attached by a fiber optics cable to a television monitor. By touching the tip of the lens to any object under scrutiny, a user of any age or ability immediately produces a well-lighted, in-focus image of the appropriate magnification on a regular television monitor. This tool will improve the investigative biology laboratory for non- science majors. Video recordings can be made in the normal fashion.The number of applications that can be developed is virtually unlimited and will serve as a generator of ideas for K-12 as well as undergraduate curricula. The preliminary excitement elicited by the entry of our pilot scope into K-12 and undergraduate classrooms merits the expansion of the program into this larger scale project.
