lip states that there are “10,000 times more microbes in our intestines than human beings on the planet…these tiny creatures keep us alive, partly by donating genes and proteins that we rely on. And Leeuwenhoek gave us the first glimpse.”
Microscopic Movie Stars explores how, with today’s digital cameras and microscopes, students can explore Leeuwenhoek’s microbial world, perhaps even becoming photographic masters with this readily available technology.
Through van Leeuwenhoek’s Eyes video clip gives a brief look through a microscope.
Lens on Leeuwenhoek: The Life, Times, and Accomplishments of Antony van Leeuwenhoek is a brief video clip from the Lens on Leeuwenhoek website below.
Micropia is a museum dedicated to microbes. It is close to Delft where Leeuwenhoek conducted most of his observations. The museum has a kiss-o-meter that reveals how oral microbes of couples change as a result of this everyday human contact. Even though your students don’t have access to the meter, they can learn about the impact of the microbial exchange, also known as…a kiss. The museum’s online site is full of interesting information, excellent photos, and great ideas.
Lens on Leeuwenhoek packs everything about Leeuwenhoek in this nutshell of a website. It shares Leeuwenhoek firsts, such as seeing spermatozoa, red blood cells in capillaries, and bacteria. It includes entertaining tidbits. For example, Leeuwenhoek’s daughter not only possessed many of his original microscopes when she died, but she also had over 2,000 teacups. And, part of Leeuwenhoek’s civic responsibilities had included inspecting Delft’s wine barrels.
The Micropolitan Museum includes exhibitions such as “The Protists Parade” in the Freshwater Collection or the “Diatom Display” in the Marine Collection.
Pictures of Van Leeuwenhoek’s Microscopes are available from Smithsonian Magazine. Here are directions for making a replica of a Leeuwenhoek microscope. This guide of how a Leeuwenhoek microscope functioned is from the Museum of Microscopy.
Nick Lane’s discussion of Leeuwenhoek’s observations of, as he called them, “little animals,” provides teacher background on the significance of Leeuwenhoek today.
1 “Animated Life: Seeing the Invisible” by Flora Lichtman and Sharon Shattuck, New York Times Sept. 15, 2014