Imagine being the first person to see a water droplet (or moss squeeze) under a microscope. We have some insight to the experiences of the first recorded microscopic explorers.
When Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch merchant and part-time janitor, turned his newly invented microscope on a drop of water he called his daughter, ‘See what I see, Maria!’ They saw a new universe. In that moment Van Leeuwenhoek and his daughter discovered more species new to science than all of the terrestrial explorers of the previous century.
John Lewis-Sempel (2019) Still Water: The Deep Life of The Pond. London: Penguin Random House. p. 117
Now, think about how you might want to experience observing your first moss squeeze sample. Or help someone else experience theirs. Look at the image below. This is what you are confronted with on your first experience, only there may be movement and organisms swimming across your field of view.
Having had the privilege of showing adults and children their first water droplet from a moss squeeze has made me wonder about prior experience and how to get the most from that first viewing.
Awe and Wonder
Children and adults alike are filled with a sense of awe and wonder when looking at a moss squeeze droplet. There’s usually surprise of what is in the moss squeeze: the diversity, the quantity, the disbelief.
“Never knew there was so much life in moss! Will never look at it in the same way again. ” Trainee Chemistry Teacher
“Wow! It’s like looking into space!” My young nephew
How important is prior knowledge?
Observing your first droplet of water from moss, freshwater or seawater is memorable. A shift in perspective. How can all these organisms exist in a droplet of water? Also, maybe a bit daunting? What are all these things? And, very exciting. Am I the first person to see these particular organism?
I have learnt from teaching that we can teach someone when we know their starting point. Young children will connect to what they already know…’It’s a wiggly worm!’ when seeing a nematode. They will often give a description of what they think something is doing… eating, swimming, crawling… these connections are important. At primary age, we can ask them questions about whether they think something is living, non-living, dead.
However, working with teachers, they want to be able to guide their students with at least some knowledge of what they might see. I am of the age that I enjoy learning with my students, I value the sense of shared discovery, the importance showing that science is not done. However, I also enjoy being the more knowledgeable other, able to ask the right question at the right time, and being able to share knowledge to further awe and wonder.
However you see your first drop of water under the microscope, savour it, enjoy it and let it open your mind.
What have been your experiences? Do you remember seeing your first drop of water under the microscope? Do you have the privilege of giving others that opportunity? How do they react?
Moss Safari 