Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

Designing a high-resolution, LEGO-based microscope for an educational setting

View ORCID ProfileBart E. Vos, Emil Betz Blesa, View ORCID ProfileTimo Betz
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.11.439311
Bart E. Vos
1Institute of Cell Biology, Center for Molecular Biology of Inflammation, Cells-in-Motion Cluster of Excellence, Münster University, Münster, Germany
2Third Institute of Physics - Biophysics, Georg August University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Bart E. Vos
Emil Betz Blesa
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Timo Betz
1Institute of Cell Biology, Center for Molecular Biology of Inflammation, Cells-in-Motion Cluster of Excellence, Münster University, Münster, Germany
2Third Institute of Physics - Biophysics, Georg August University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Timo Betz
  • For correspondence: timo.betz@phys.uni-goettingen.de
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Supplementary material
  • Data/Code
  • Preview PDF
Loading

Abstract

Microscopy is an essential tool in many fields of science. However, due to their costs and fragility, the usage of microscopes is limited in classroom settings and nearly absent at home. In this article we present the construction of a microscope using LEGO® bricks and low-cost, easily available lenses. We demonstrate that the obtained magnification and resolution are sufficient to resolve micrometer-sized objects and propose a series of experiments that explore various biophysical principles. Finally, a study with students in the age range of 9 to 13 shows that the understanding of microscopy increases significantly after working with the LEGO microscope.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Footnotes

  • https://github.com/tobetz/LegoMicroscope/

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted April 11, 2021.
Download PDF

Supplementary Material

Data/Code
Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Designing a high-resolution, LEGO-based microscope for an educational setting
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
Designing a high-resolution, LEGO-based microscope for an educational setting
Bart E. Vos, Emil Betz Blesa, Timo Betz
bioRxiv 2021.04.11.439311; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.11.439311
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Designing a high-resolution, LEGO-based microscope for an educational setting
Bart E. Vos, Emil Betz Blesa, Timo Betz
bioRxiv 2021.04.11.439311; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.04.11.439311

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Scientific Communication and Education
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (3513)
  • Biochemistry (7359)
  • Bioengineering (5338)
  • Bioinformatics (20306)
  • Biophysics (10034)
  • Cancer Biology (7763)
  • Cell Biology (11330)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (6444)
  • Ecology (9968)
  • Epidemiology (2065)
  • Evolutionary Biology (13346)
  • Genetics (9365)
  • Genomics (12598)
  • Immunology (7718)
  • Microbiology (19058)
  • Molecular Biology (7452)
  • Neuroscience (41106)
  • Paleontology (300)
  • Pathology (1233)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (2141)
  • Physiology (3171)
  • Plant Biology (6868)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1275)
  • Synthetic Biology (1899)
  • Systems Biology (5320)
  • Zoology (1090)