What is the HFCC Virtual Microscope?
The HFCC Virtual Microscope is a project of Henry Ford Community College, Dearborn Michigan. We are providing it as a teaching and learning tool for science educators and their students.
The Virtual Microscope is designed to assist teachers in middle schools, high schools, and colleges to meet curricular standards. It is designed be used as a resource by middle and high school life science classes, especially for those in areas which lack microscope facilities, and for supplemental information by advanced and college-level biology classes.
Teachers can use the Virtual Microscope as a preview before students observe prepared slides and living material, so the students know what to look for; as a review after the students have made their observations, in lieu of observing specific materials in the laboratory, or for extension activities. Since the Virtual Microscope is available online, students may also preview or review these materials outside class time.
The Virtual Microscope is organized into three areas: Middle School, High School, and Advanced.
Links in the Middle School and High School areas are keyed to the Michigan Curriculum Framework Science Standards for Cell Biology (III. Life Sciences, Content Standard1, (Cells), and Content Standard 2 (Classification). Teachers of advanced high school biology classes (Honors or Advanced Placement biology, or specialized classes) and teachers of college-level biology classes may find the "Advanced" section useful for previews, reviews, or extension activities.
The HFCC Virtual Microscope and all its contents are Copyright 2005 by Charles W. Jacobs. Permission is granted to use the website for noncommercial teaching purposes only. You may not reproduce any of the content without explicit permission of the copyright holder. You may link to the Virtual Microscope through the homepage only.
Email us: cjacobs AT hfcc.edu
Browser Information:
The Virtual Microscope uses Javascript to present all of the information you see on each page. Make sure that your browser is configured to enable Javascript.
Firefox: In preferences, go to the advanced features and disable "resize images to fit browser window".
Internet Explorer: There are no known issues with Internet Explorer
Safari: Sorry, Safari cannot process the Javascript used in the Virtual Microscope. We recommend using one of the two browsers listed above.
About the Virtual Microscope:
Micrographs were taken with a Spot RT digital camera attached to a Leica DMLB photomicroscope and were processed on a Macintosh G4 computer . Low power images were taken with an Intel Play microscope attached to an iBook G4. The Virtual Microscope is housed on a Macintosh G4 server. The server, microscope, camera, and imaging computer were funded by grants from the Henry Ford Community College Technology Investment Fund.