Exploring the Microcosm, One Slide at a Time (LGP-B4 2026)
Jun 10, 2026 • 5:48 AM UTC
India
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Plants
Kavya Sahu
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In Week 4 of the Lodha Genius Program at Ashoka University , we used Foldscopes in our science course, Exploring the Microcosm , to observe a fern rhizome slide and an onion peel at different magnifications.
Before this, I had never tried using a Foldscope. A microscope made from a folded piece of paper sounded cool, but I wasn't sure how much it could really do. About ten minutes later, I was looking at plant tissues and onion cells and thinking about why I hadn't learned about this before.
We started with a prepared fern rhizome slide and looked at it under higher magnifications. It was amazing to see more details appear with each step. It was amazing how something so simple showed layers of details when seen closely. It was a perfect example that there is often a lot more going on beneath the surface than we think.
Before this, I had never tried using a Foldscope. A microscope made from a folded piece of paper sounded cool, but I wasn't sure how much it could really do. About ten minutes later, I was looking at plant tissues and onion cells and thinking about why I hadn't learned about this before.
We started with a prepared fern rhizome slide and looked at it under higher magnifications. It was amazing to see more details appear with each step. It was amazing how something so simple showed layers of details when seen closely. It was a perfect example that there is often a lot more going on beneath the surface than we think.
Next, we moved on to the onion peel slide. This time, we had to make the sample ourselves. It sounded easy, but getting a thin peel and placing it correctly on the slide turned out to be harder than I thought. After several failed tries ( and one very unfortunate piece of onion ), I finally managed to make a slide that worked.
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Looking at the onion cells was one of the best parts of the session. Seeing the neat, brick-like arrangement of the cells made something I had only seen in textbooks feel real. It was exciting to see these structures up close instead of just reading about them.
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Taking pictures with the Foldscope was a challenge too. Most of my early photos were blurry, weirdly aligned, or somehow captured everything except what I wanted to take a picture of. Getting the focus right took a lot of patience. But once everything finally came together, it was super satisfying to see and capture a clear image of the sample.
What I enjoyed the most about this was how easy it was to access and handle. The Foldscope took microscopy out of labs and expensive equipment and put it right in our hands. It showed us that science isn’t just about learning formulas and mixing chemicals in labs, but it also lies in everyday things all around us . The session reminded me that there's a whole hidden world around us that we often don’t see, and even something as common as a plant part can be really interesting when seen from a different angle.
I'm thankful to the instructors and the Foldscope team for giving us this chance to explore the microscopic world. It was a fun and interactive experience that made science feel a lot more real and exciting.
What I enjoyed the most about this was how easy it was to access and handle. The Foldscope took microscopy out of labs and expensive equipment and put it right in our hands. It showed us that science isn’t just about learning formulas and mixing chemicals in labs, but it also lies in everyday things all around us . The session reminded me that there's a whole hidden world around us that we often don’t see, and even something as common as a plant part can be really interesting when seen from a different angle.
I'm thankful to the instructors and the Foldscope team for giving us this chance to explore the microscopic world. It was a fun and interactive experience that made science feel a lot more real and exciting.
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