Hello Foldscopers!

Last night, I hosted a skill-sharing party with Foldscope mentors who will be helping me lead a workshop this weekend. It was a nice gathering of new and seasoned Foldscope mentors, going over the workshop logistics, Foldscope assembly, tips and tricks for sample prep. What fun!

I encourage everyone to host your own Foldscope skill-sharing with your friends! I would like to share my notes from the evening as my offering to the Foldscope community 🙂

1. Introduction (snacks!)
Always nice to kick things off with a round of introduction 🙂

2. Sharing tools and samples
Lake Merritt water, Lake Yosemite water, Water sample from Point Reyes, fruit fries from the compost pile, etc. etc.

3. Review logistics for the upcoming workshop
Date/Time, Location, Attending mentors, Expected audience, Number of attendees, Timeline of the workshop, who is bringing what

4. Foldscope tips & tricks

5. Workshop / Event planning tips
1 mentor lead 5-7 attendees , avoid relying on tutorial videos during the workshop for a better flow, have a designated photographer, have someone keep track of time, ask the conference coordinator when the room needs to be vacated before the next group begins prepping,

6. Mentoring tips

7. Your favorite Microcosmos post
(I forgot to ask during the get-together! Hoping the mentors will share in the comment section)

8. Review assembly as a group
(This took about 60 min. Even if you are an experienced Foldscoper, it really helps to go over the process multiple times before you mentor a beginner!)

9. Review Microcosmos posting through WordPress app
(Note to self!)

Tips shared by the mentors:

Lupe shared an easy way to take the ring stickers off of the sheet: bend the base sheet until the edge of the white ring “pop,” then peel the sticker with the tip of your nail.

Max shared how to be always Foldscope-ready: cut the edges off of the magnetic coupler and attach it with two layers of ring stickers around the camera phone. Depending on your phone case, your phone might still fit just fine!

Damon shared cool slides with built-in cover slips. They are called Cell Counting Slides, and Damon uses it for quick scan of water samples. Apparently, they can be reused if cleaned properly (Check out this link )

More tips to come!

Happy Foldscoping,

Honomi