PROMOTING SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BETWEEN INDIA AND THE U.S.

Exploring the Microcosmos of Palampur with Paper Microscopes!

Written by: Kanika Khanna. If this sparks interests in you, email us to get in contact with Kanika!

I am intrigued by the molecular details of life and the unique patterns exhibited in a variety of forms by nature. Using simple and sophisticated tools to visualize these mysterious details have always stimulated my mind. Being a Khorana scholar in 2013, I was fortunate enough to get exposure to biology research in a very stimulating setting. This propelled me to continue my passion for research and currently I am pursuing my doctoral studies at University of California, San Diego to unravel the secrets of a class of bacteria that forms spore as a response to harsh environmental conditions, using microscopy techniques wherein you can visualize the molecular details of this process to a few nanometer resolution. And for all purposes, these spores are essentially immortal, staying dormant for thousands of years until they germinate again. Amazing, isn’t it!?

During this time, I stumbled upon research led by Prof. Manu Prakash at Stanford, who is working on developing ‘frugal’ science tools for community to generate curiosity and enthusiasm for science in everyone’s mind and for cheap diagnostic research. One recent 50-cent tool is known as ‘foldscope’ and it is essentially an origami-based paper microscope. Yes, you can fold a piece of paper, attach a lens to it and go about exploring your surroundings! The lab was kind enough to gift me 50 paper microscopes to organize a workshop in an NGO called ‘Aavishkaar’ in nature’s lap in Palampur (Himachal Pradesh, India). The word Aavishkaar means ‘invention’. True to their name, this nonprofit works with middle and high school kids to nurture their curious minds with hands-on experiences and experiments in science and maths. 

I had the opportunity to be a small part of their camp organized for 8th grade girls from Nari Gunjan, another NGO working for the untouchable communities in Bihar. Together with the staff at Aavishkaar, I organized a session with the 20 girls at the camp where we folded the microscope in a step by step process to make it into a usable form. Together, we saw samples of several tissues, plants, insects, yoghurt, lice from their hair, etc. One of the moments which specially resonated with me was when a girl was so intrigued she pricked her finger so that she could see her blood under the microscope. My current hope is the team at Aavishkaar will incorporate foldscope into their training modules for their subsequent training camps as well as spread word about it in various teacher training workshops and conferences involving govt’s education sector which they attend so that it becomes a teaching method in public and private schools in India with a multiplying effect!

I am currently trying to work with them remotely from USA as much as I can via skype conferences with the new batch of kids that comes along! The four days I spent with Aavishkaar made me realize that the underprivileged kids are the ones who understand the problems of the society at the grassroot level and hence equipping them with the right resources and mindset can help us tackle these issues. And in this regard, education in science and maths through innovative teaching methods will go a long way.

About Aavishkaar: http://www.aavishkaar-palampur.org/, https://www.facebook.com/AavishkaarPalampur/?fref=ts

About foldscope: https://microcosmos.foldscope.com/,  https://www.facebook.com/foldscope/

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