Overview

Do you want to refresh your teaching and inspire your students with planktonic life in a free of charge workshop using a unique microscope that you can add to your school inventory? Then, form a group of maximum four teachers from your school and apply for the Diving into the world of plankton workshop where you can use the Curiosity microscope and the classroom materials we have developed for teachers. Participants work hands on with the microscope and visualise microscopic plankton using their phones or tablets and explore the educational content and the tools to use in their classrooms. 

Target audience: Secondary school science teachers

Workshop duration: 3 hours

Group size: maximum 3 schools with between 2 – 4 teachers from each school

Workshop language: Official language of the country or English 

Workshop content

During the workshop, teachers will:

• Recognize the role of a multidisciplinary pan-European initiative in exploring marine biodiversity.
• Employ the Curiosity microscopes to visualise microorganisms.
• Examine planktonic life in the water.
• Explore and review educational material that they can use in the classroom along with the microscope.

Concepts in focus

Using a microscope, cells, trophic interactions, analysing and interpreting visual information

Relevant Curriculum Links

International Baccalaureate: A2.2.3, A2.2.10, C4.2.2, C4.2.3, C4.2.6, C4.2.8, C4.2.10

GCSE: 4.1.1.1, 4.1.1.5, 4.4.1.1, 4.7.1.3, 4.7.4.1, 4.7.5.3

Advanced Placement, Fall 2020: 2.1, 3.5, 8.2

Classroom Materials

All the available classroom materials are stored in the Zenodo depository and are currently available in English and German. French, Italian and Spanish translations will be deposited in the same space as well.

Follow the link to access the English document: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11349020

About the Curiosity Microscope

The curiosity microscope, primarily crafted from wood, differs from traditional ones by incorporating a camera for connection to phones, tablets, or computers, offering portability for unconventional terrains.

About the project

BIOcean5D is a pan-European initiative using advanced tools like eDNA/RNA sequencing, acoustics, remote sensing, and AI to explore marine biodiversity from viruses to whales. The project also aims to provide teacher professional development and enhance ocean literacy.

Travel

We expect participating teachers to reach the workshop location by themselves.

Workshop Locations

EMBL Heidelberg, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany

EMBL-EBI, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, CB10 1SD, UK

EMBL Grenoble, 71 avenue des Martyrs, CS 90181, 38042 Grenoble Cedex 9, France

EMBL Rome, Via Ramarini 32, 00015 Monterotondo (RM), Italy

EMBL/PRBB, Carrer del Doctor Aiguader 88, 4th floor, 08003 Barcelona, Spain

Application

“Diving into the world of Plankton” professional development workshop is offered for secondary school science teachers located near EMBL sites in the UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy. The 3 hour long workshop focuses on exploring planktons using a camera mounted light microscope. The workshop provides the school teachers with classroom materials and a free of charge portable light microscope for their school inventory. Please ensure that you have read all workshop related information and are confident that you can attend the workshop before filling out the application form. Applications will be processed on a first come first serve basis.

Places and dates of the workshops

• EMBL Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany workshop: March 17, 2024

Thank you for your interest in our first ever plankton workshop. You can read more about it here: https://biocean5d.org/sparking-curiosity-the-curiosity-microscope/ 

• EMBL-EBI, Hinxton, United Kingdom workshop: Spring 2025, exact date to be announced.

Apply (limited seats available).

• EMBL Grenoble, Grenoble, France workshop: October 09, 2024, 2 pm CET. 

Applications closed / No seats available.

• EMBL Rome, Italy workshop: To Be Announced

Applications not open yet

• EMBL Barcelona, Spain workshop: To Be Announced

Applications not open yet

For questions contact: efraim.culfa@embl.de 

Attendance & Cancellation

We ask participants to only apply if they are certain that they can attend the whole workshop. In case you need to cancel your attendance after having confirmed your participation, please notify us as soon as possible by email, so we can give your place to somebody on our waiting list.

Workshop Programme

Please see a draft workshop schedule below.

Workshop duration: 3 hours

• Introduction to BIOcean5D and EMBL
• Introduction to educational material & expectations
• Introduction to the Curiosity Microscope and user manual
• Teacher practice – Sample collection & preparation
• Break
• Teacher practice – Visualisation and recording of samples under the microscope with the accompanying educational content (Part 1)
• Completion of Part 2 of the educational content (without Curiosity Microscope)
• Wrap up & Feedback

Workshop Organisers

Science Education and Public Engagement

EMBL’s Science Education and Public Engagement office shares the scientific discoveries of EMBL with young people, teachers and the diverse public in Europe and beyond. Our education programmes convey complex, cutting-edge topics in life science research in an exciting and insightful way, fostering the discovery of current research trends, the scientific method, and scientific career paths. Our teacher training courses empower educators to bring modern life sciences into the classroom. Visit our website for further information about our activities.

EMBL SEPE co-leads the workshops with the Plankton Planet NGO.