Saturday DNA! NYC - The Microscopic World Around Us

Our world is teeming with life, some of it is visible but much of it is too small to see without a microscope. Have you ever wondered what your own cells look like, or what’s really swimming in the waters around NYC? Join us for an exciting workshop, where you can peek into the microscopic world around you. Get ready to find science, surprises, and maybe even some squirmy creatures! Perfect for curious minds, future biologists, and anyone who’s ever asked, “What’s REALLY in water?”

In this session, participants will:

· Learn how to use a light microscope

· Prepare and stain a slide of their cheek cells to observe the nucleus and overall shape and size of the cells

· Examine living plant cells to observe the cell wall, central vacuole, chloroplasts, and cytoplasmic streaming.

· Observe what happens to cells when a freshwater plant is soaked in salt water

· Search for microscopic organisms in water samples collected from ponds and rivers around NYC

Ages 10-13. Chaperone participation is welcome (chaperones must purchase their own ticket) but not required.