Hi Class,
I began my journey in science education first as a student. I was always naturally curious and would often ask questions like "Mom, what's this leaf made of?" and "Dad, why does that rock look like that?" I knew that I could answer these questions myself... but I needed the proper equipment. What screams 'scientist' more than a toy microscope with pre-made slides of flower petals and butterfly wings? The custom-made white lab coat that read 'Dr. Baker' across the left upper chest. These items were exactly what I asked for from my parents for my 8th birthday.
The microscope kit is still, to this day, one of the best gifts I have received. It stimulated my brain, made me feel confident and only grew my curiosity. The colors of the butterfly wings illuminated through the eye piece where I could see structure and sections and what looked to be hair? I was making observations and collecting scientific evidence and didn't even notice...
The toys I was interested in playing with slowly evolved from Barbie Dolls and princess costumes to kinetic sand lab kits and rock polishers. Little did I know how important a simple tool as a microscope would become to defining who I was as a student...
Fast forward 11 years, and I am a sophomore in college at Bucknell University. I am beginning my first research project as a second year Geology student. I studied optical mineralogy and quartz-in-garnet (QuiG) inclusions in order to determine pressures of metamorphism in the American southwest. How did I do so? By using an SEM (scanning electron microscope) and what my research advisor described to me as the 'Cadillac of Microscopes.' These machines were incredible. The size of small printers, the microscopes had optical lenses that could zoom into details of a thin section beyond my wildest dreams. It had cross-polarizers, plain-polarizers, cathodoluminescence detectors, electron beams, an auto focus function and a stage that moved and rotated using an egg shaped remote control. It was simple to take images of garnet crystals and record data using the various mosaics and still images. The more comfortable I got with using the 'Cadillac' and SEM, the more I was expected to teach others in the lab how to use the complicated yet helpful machines. It was important to me as an instructor to break down the process into simple steps. I knew a lot of the others in the lab when first starting to use the microscopes feared of breaking it and having to replace expensive parts. My expertise in instructing quickly grew from the lab to the field, too.
Ultimately, I helped the other lab students gain confidence using the machines and how to get the best images and results for their own research projects. Looking back, this was one of the first teaching experiences in high-level science I had. Sometimes looking back, it's the little details that matter.