Have you ever felt like plants are just not as exciting as animals? Compared to animals’ complex and rapid movements, plants’ relatively motionless lives appear boring. But if you use a microscope to zoom-in on a plant’s cellular structure, you will see that even the most stationary of plants have a lot going on at the microscale! In this session, students will learn about light-induced chloroplast movement in aquatic plants, develop hypotheses about the underlying mechanisms, and test one of their hypothesis in an experiment they design.. Students will use both a compound microscope and a DIY minimalist microscope for their experiments and for their own exploration of the micro-world.. By the end of the session, students will develop an appreciation for life at the microscale and the nature of scientific investigations and knowledge.

The Inner Life of the Cell. This video is a molecular-scale tour through an animal cell. Most of the objects seen in the video are too small for us to see with a microscope or need to be specifically stained, but it will show the students how dynamic the inside of the cell is. There are multiple versions online. This one is eight minutes and many of the structures are identified. This version is shorter (~3 minutes) and does not contain labels. There is no narration – only music.

1. Discussion and interactive brainstorming 
2. Students will work in groups to identify a hypothesis and make predictions for an experiment that they want to do to test a mechanism behind chloroplast movement. This part will be differentiated for middle school groups.
3. Students will prepare the samples for their experiments and, while they are incubating, explore  compound and minimalist microscopes. They will use the minimalist microscopes to reveal the hidden, micro-scale details of common objects.
4. Students will next look at their samples using the microscopes make a conclusion about their hypothesis.
5. Finally, each group will present their results and we will develop conclusions and revised hypotheses as a class. Dr. Kubow will connect what the students investigated to the general importance of cell-based movement, e.g., in cancer. He will also highlight the need for simple, low-cost, low-maintenance instruments (like the minimalist microscopes) for science and health in remote and underserved areas of the word.

High school students will work in groups to develop their own mini-experiment, including selecting a mechanism to test and making a hypothesis. Middle school student groups will each be assigned a specific experiment and we will discuss and formulate hypotheses as a class. High school students will receive more detail on the biology behind cell-based movement.

• Basic parts of a eukaryotic cell (cell membrane, cell wall, nucleus, chloroplast, mitochondria, cytoplasm, etc.)

• Scientific method / scientific inquiry cycle

• It would be helpful, but not essential, to know the basic idea of photosynthesis (i.e. plants use energy from light to make sugars that can be used for energy and to make other molecules in the cell, and this process occurs in the chloroplasts)

• The Process of Science: Making a hypothesis about why a phenomenon occurs; designing a simple experiment with a control to test it; predicting the outcome; assessing the prediction and hypothesis in light of the results
• Engineering design thinking: How is the microscope's design neither too simple (so as to limit its functionality) nor too complex (making it difficult to use/maintain)? What are the essential features of a microscope?
• Data visualization: Images and movies are data. How can they be used to make measurements about a biological process?
• Scientific communication: Students will discuss their hypotheses in their groups and will share their results with the entire class.
• Systems thinking: How is a plant cell's chloroplast arrangement critical to the function of the plant and the ecosystem as a whole?

• Physics: The reasons for why chloroplasts move involve the physics of light and molecular diffusion. The physics of light is also addressed in explaining how a microscope works.
• Environmental Science: Plants move their chloroplasts to maximize energy production from photosynthesis, which also removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and is a critical ecosystem service.
• In addition, microscopy is an essential tool that is used widely across the sciences.

Dr. Kubow researches how cells move through tissue. Although he studies mammalian rather than plant cells, many of the same molecules and process responsible for movement within plant cells are also involved in animal cell migration. Dr. Kubow also directs the Light Microscopy research facility at JMU where he maintains numerous state-of-the-art imaging systems and helps students and faculty with their research projects that require microscopy. 

The minimalist, low-cost microscopes that we will use are an example of “frugal science." The developing of robust and inexpensive versions of the delicate and expensive instruments used in well-funded laboratories is important for education, deploying health services to remote and underserved regions, and for the democratization of science. Engineering these solutions requires both a deep understanding of the biological/health issue to be addressed and the instrument itself. See more here. 

Agriculture biotechnology scientists/technicians use their understanding of plants to develop technologies that improve agricultural outcomes, e.g. improving crop yields, reducing environmental impacts of farming, reducing the effects of plant pathogens. 

Clinical pathologists/histologists use light microscopy and microscope image analysis to diagnose diseases. 

• A very short article describing two kinds of chloroplast movement observed in the aquatic plant, Elodea.
• A website by Bob Goldstein, a professor at UNC Chapel Hill, who uses microscopes like the ones we will be using in workshops for North Carolina teachers.