Microscopes for younger eyes
Dear Fellow Microscopists,
I remember my first microscope. I was six years old and had just started 1st grade. The school was a couple blocks away from our apartment, so my mom would walk me to and from school. There was a toy store on our route. Every day I would see behind the store’s window these little black-and-metallic things, which resembled small robots with elongated heads sitting on their hind legs and holding a small tray. Oh boy, was I into robots at that age! When I asked my mom, she told me “those are not robots; they are microscopes, tools that are used to see very small things.” That explanation did not deter me; they still looked like robots, and I still wanted one really bad. After days of begging, my mom gave in and bought me one. That little microscope became one of my favorite toys for the years to come. I cannot even guess how many hours I spent reflecting sun light off its little mirror and looking at samples of all kinds. When I was not using it as a microscope, it was serving other purposes, like acting as a robot (of course!) or becoming a pseudo-scientific gadget in my make-believe sci-fi games inspired by the TV series Star Trek and Space: 1999. It looked exactly like the vintage microscope that I found for sale in an online store (see photo right). You may call me nostalgic or sentimental, but as soon as I saw it I could not resist buying it.
That little microscope was the first scientific instrument to shine some light into my developing mind, to show me the wonders of the natural (and sometimes unnatural or man-made) world on a much smaller scale, and to generate sparks of interest in me towards scientific exploration. A couple years later, my younger uncle Turgay gave me a more sophisticated microscopy set for my birthday. The new microscope was significantly larger, had four objective lenses instead of three, had an integrated battery-powered light source in addition to the mirror, and came in a set with various slides, stains, dissection tools and other goodies. My third childhood microscope was even more sophisticated. It looked like a miniature TV. It was battery-powered, and instead of an eyepiece it had a frosted-glass screen to view the samples (see photo right). I looked very cool and displayed awesome images. Thinking back, I feel so lucky that I was blessed with these wonderful toys at such a young age.
Unfortunately, I do not have my childhood microscopes anymore; they got lost during my transition to adulthood, when I left my parents’ nest and migrated to United States. However, they served their purpose extremely well. The awe and sense of wonder they invoked in my young mind later helped me define my career path in science and engineering. Now, I am a father of two wonderful boys, Bora (8) and Kaya (almost 4). They have so many modern, high-tech toys and games, but I am concerned and a bit sad. I am concerned because they do not have, towards any of their toys, the appreciation and awe I had towards my microscopes. Their attention span is so short that a new toy becomes an old one on the same day. They are more interested in the virtual joys offered to them through the digital media such as PC, TV, tablets, phones, gamepads etc., which are so ubiquitous that they are almost impossible to ban or even limit. I am sad because my sons may not ever feel the joy of playing with a simple microscope for hours at a time… unless I do something.
Well, I did something by registering and bringing my older son Bora to the last NESM meeting at Boston University. In contrast to my initial worries and predictions, I was pleasantly surprised that he actually liked being among the “grown-up kids who like to play with [very] expensive microscopy toys”, kept his attention through most of the two talks, and did not complain at all. So there seems to be hope for the new generation after all. I am planning to bring him to the next NESM meeting at Woods Hole as well. Although he is going to miss a day of school, I think it is so much more important to stimulate children with activities of scientific exploration at an early age. On behalf of the NESM board of directors, I encourage you to register and bring your daughters, sons, nieces, nephews, friends’ kids, neighbors’ children, teenagers you have been mentoring, anyone young who may enjoy microscopy and science, to that meeting. If you are planning to, please let us know. Even if there is a small group of young minds, we would like to organize some activities to keep them engaged and entertained. I am hoping that these little events will be the beginning of many more educational activities to come from NESM. Please help us make NESM an organization not only for the “grown-up” kids, but also the real ones. Share your thoughts and suggestions with us about what else we can do. Let the light of science illuminate the young minds around you. I hope to see you all at Woods Hole. Until then…
Fettah Kosar, Ph.D.
Interim NESM President
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