During the first annual Science and Leadership Festival in the Koinadugu District of Sierra Leone, Project 1808 introduced their students to the world of microscopy!

For the majority of students in the district, they had never seen or touched a microscope in person. As a result, they were all very excited to get their hands on the foldscopes and the one light microscope that we brought with us for the camp.

We worked closely with our Student Leaders to
show them how to collect samples and prepare slides using both glass and paper slides. The samples they collected were mostly from local ponds and swamps. They then used a razor blade to create slides of flowers and leaves found around the community.

By making the slides and observing the samples through the Foldscopes, students were able to see the complex vascular structure of plants. As the older students worked with the younger children, they explained the purpose of the “highway” of veins that exists within flowers and plants.

After their experience with the Foldscopes many students — including students who had already chosen not to study science — said that they had a renewed interest in the topic. They requested more books and lessons on some of the topics we had discussed while using the Foldscopes. Some even requested to take the scopes home to be used to look at some other household items.

The camp was attended by hundreds of students, so unfortunately we were not able to give each one their own Foldscope. However, they will be staying in our office in town and we will be sure to keep you updated on any other activities being done with them.

For now, we are looking forward to our 2017 Science and Leadership Festival to take place in January 2017!

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Project 1808 is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. We work in Sierra Leone supporting children’s education, community development, and health. For more information on our organization and our initiatives both in Sierra Leone and in the US, visit www.project1808.org or email project1808.africa@gmail.com.