I am a Science teacher in a Primary School in Singapore. This week i started teaching the topic on Plant System to my class kiddos. This morning one of my kids was enquiring about how the stomata actually works as i was comparing it with the respiratory system of the human body.

I was very curious if it was possible to see using the foldscope ,the stomata of the leaf which are the tiny openings on the underside of the leaf that plants use to breathe/take in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide. We have always seen pictures but not live shots of stomata.

Through online research and the microcosmos.foldscope.com website, i found out that people have attempted even to timelapse the stomata opening and closing using the foldscope. So obviously, i had to try!

And? Successsss! Achievement level unlocked ! 🤗 Another wonderful day for Science! ~ Dexter 😎😆😉🤗😅 Foldscope is the ultra-affordable, paper microscope. Designed to be extremely portable, durable, and to give optical quality similar to conventional research microscopes (magnification of 140X and 2 micron resolution), Foldscope brings hands-on microscopy to new places!

Why not low-cost scientific tools for everyone? @teamfoldscope #foldscope
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All i did was to choose a compound leaf from one of the potted plants in my garden and placed the leaf directly over the lens. I made sure the leaf was dry beforehand. Also i place a bright light source using a lamp that i used for my make projects photography shoots.

Using a smart handphone camera to augment the foldscope, it was then a matter of adjustment of focus to allow the identifying of stomata on the leaf. make sure you place the underside of the leaf facing the lens as that is where the stomata are located.