Dino-Lite shows micro-electronics to students

The 'Science-on-Tour' travelling show wants to grasp the interest for technology of pupils between 10 and 18 and encourage them to develop their talents in the field of engineering and science. The travelling show was initiated by the University of Twente (the Netherlands) and is a collection of active experiments to watch and do. They are based on surprising and intriguing physical and chemical phenomena. Thomas Hoen is one of the students participating in the Tour as part of the electro technical team. He is a second year student of Electrical Engineering. Apart from his team, there is a team for chemistry and a physics team involved in 'Science on Tour'.

"We show other pupils how small electrical moving parts can be", Hoen explains. "We have mounted moving parts on a chip measuring two millimeters. They are so small that you can hardly perceive any movement with the naked eye. We have placed a Dino-Lite Pro on a tripod above the chip. The Dino-Lite is connected to a laptop by USB and the students can clearly see the movement on the screen of the laptop. The Dino-Lite with a five megapixel resolution shows the object with a magnification of 200 times. This is obviously much easier than a microscope where students take turns to stare. The built-in LED makes the setup very easy since we do not need to install a separate light source.

Everyone finds it fascinating to see how you can install moving part on such a small surface. Especially when I tell that someone has managed to build in a working steam engine on a one by one mm surface. Unfortunately we not show this! All in all, I hope that we can interest students in technical education with these beautiful sharp images and that we can literally show that technical education is not dull at all, but very exciting. Dino-Lite helps us do that!

Dino-Lite in science education

A Dino-Lite Digital microscope is a versatile piece of equipment, and one of its many applications is Education. A great example of this can be found in the unique Maritime Bus owned by The Hampshire & Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology, a registered charity. In the bus a special 'Microscope Corner' can be found, providing all visitors with a close up look at Maritime archaeological artefacts and materials.

Amanda Bowens, Education & Outreach Manager of the HWTMA explains: "The Hampshire & Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology have been using the Dino-Lite AM4112PT Digital Microscope in our Maritime Bus, which offers free public outreach sessions for members of the public and community groups, for several years. It's the perfect tool for people of all ages and backgrounds to have a hands-on experience, and study the microscopic detail of archaeological artefacts and materials in the Bus. The microscope corner on the Maritime Bus is extremely popular, we feel this is because it offers a fun and interactive way to learn a great deal about our sunken heritage. Having looked at a range of options, the Dino-Lite was the only microscope that could do the job for us."