microscopy feathers

2021 Education and Outreach: Feathers! How Small Things Can Make You Fly.

The Center for Complex and Active Materials MRSEC developed a remote learning module that used feathers and a low cost optical microscope to give insight into the concepts of structure-property relationships and emergence to K-12 students. Specifically, two different feather types were used to compare how small structural features repeated over and over again can result in very different properties. These different properties ultimately result in different uses for the two feather types.

Fifty kits were assembled and given to the Corona Public Library. The Library was responsible for distribution to the library patrons.  These kits included two types of feathers and a Foldscope.  A Foldscope is an economic paper microscope which can be connected to a camera on a cell phone or looked through with just the eye.  Accompanying the kits are an instructional video available to the library patrons on YouTube at the following link: https://youtu.be/yPG4X1Spikk

UCI MRSEC 2011967 Education Patterson Microscopy Feathers.pptx