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Kids and grownups get magnified view of small things at Reading Science Center program

Things got really big in a Berks Nature classroom on Saturday.

An event titled “Microscopic Science: The Small World of Angelica Creek Park” drew learners from ages 5 to older than 60. Starting with mini-microscopes, they graduated to looking at slides under compound scopes that magnified objects by a thousand. Finally, they saw magnified images projected to their smartphones via short-range wireless connections.

The program was presented by Reading Science Center in partnership with another nonprofit, Berks Nature, at the latter’s headquarters on the footprint of a former manmade lake in southwestern Reading.

Under the direction of “Solar System” Sarah Troy, education program director at Reading Science Center, program participants were encouraged at the outset to examine objects such as popcorn, mini-marshmallows, pasta, rock salt and jelly through a mini-microscope.

Though half the size of a computer mouse, these scopes packed a lot of power, magnifying the objects 40 to 50 times how they look through the human eye.

Troy was assisted by Brittany Potter, an educator at the science center.

Shillington resident Jasmine Townsend learned about the program on social media and thought it would be a good Saturday morning bonding even with her 5-year-old son, Giovanni Miller.

Mount Penn resident Levi Landis brought 5-year-old son, Lorne. Landis, the executive director of GoggleWorks Center for the Arts in downtown Reading, said he’s friends with Reading Science Center founder Jim Cinelli and keeps up with the lot of that organization’s happenings.

Older individuals and couples also signed up for the $5-per-person educational program.

Sinking Spring resident Janice Starsnic said she follows the Berks Nature newsletter and thought it would be interesting to see common items magnified a thousand times. She participated with her husband, George Ainsworth.

Previously run by Berks Nature’s watershed specialist, the microscopic science program got a new twist this year with Reading Science educators running it.

The two organizations have been partnering on programs together in many cases Potter said. With the science center in an urban, downtown setting, Berks Nature can utilize Berks Nature’s wetlands meadow for various programs.

“We’re working to start these partnerships because we have a lot of overlapping programs,” she said.

Troy said the overarching goal of the science center is to introduce youngsters to all aspects of science, including modeling actual scientists, especially women working in the fields. That’s why the programs include more than one instructor.


Source: Berkshire mont

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