Schools are where curiosity becomes confidence, and where students learn not just to absorb science, but to do science. This project brings that mission to life by equipping teachers with Foldscopes, an affordable paper microscope invented at Stanford University that opens the microscopic world for every student.
Selected schools will receive sets of Foldscopes and support from teachSTEM to run simple, hands-on investigations that fit their curriculum and classroom context. Students can upload their discoveries to Foldscope’s global sharing platform, Microcosmos, contributing to a worldwide community of young scientists. Teachers can choose how they participate by using Foldscopes in a single lesson, as part of a larger inquiry unit, or by co-designing new classroom projects.
What kinds of activities will be part of the Foldscope Project?
Schools can run a range of flexible, engaging investigations that build scientific skills, observation, and curiosity:
These activities are designed to be easy to implement, curriculum-aligned, and engaging for diverse learners, to help students explore the hidden microscopic world while contributing to global citizen science and building core scientific skills.
Your students could upload a microbe, insect wing, plant cell, or fibre image that becomes part of an international map of microscopic discoveries, which is a powerful way for young people to see that their science matters. Your feedback will directly shape the long-term design of an international education program, ensuring that future Foldscope resources are genuinely useful for teachers and students. Together, we can create meaningful opportunities for students to spark curiosity, strengthen scientific skills, and connect what they learn in the classroom to the world around them.
To make sure we design this program in a way that works for you and your school community, we would like your feedback to help us build the right training, activity guides, and support materials to go alongside the Foldscopes.