Children and adults alike got to discover the world hidden beyond what their eyes can see at "Introduction to Microscopy — Session 1" on Saturday, August 8. It was held in the chbMAKERS' Corner of C.H. Booth Library.

The beginner-friendly event, led by Charbel Khalil, guided participants step-by-step on how to use a microscope. Since Khalil provided all the materials and equipment, this meant everyone got hands-on experience adjusting the different parts of their microscope, from its mechanical stage to its objective lenses.

There were approximately 120 different specimens that people could use their microscope to look at. Each specimen came on a prepared microscope slide, which was made out of highly transparent glass. This made the slides perfect to analyze under a microscope, and, in turn, for participants to get an up-close look at whatever interested them.

The specimens came in five different color-coded categories: cells, microbiology, botany (vascular and nonvascular), zoology (invertebrate and chordata), and histology (mammal and human). These ranged from cactus stem, fruit flies, and starfish to spiral algae, amphiuma liver, and cardiac muscle.

Participants excitedly took turns looking at each other's specimens, carefully peering into the microscope's eyepiece lens and adjusting its stage to get the best view.

For the last activity, Khalil had everyone put on nitrate gloves to swab their cheeks and look at their cheek cells. He told the group to make sure their mouth was wet to get the best possible sample. Participants swabbed each side of their cheek, then smeared their sample onto the middle of a blank microscope slide.

Khalil gave everyone dye, specifically methylene blue since he said it is the safest, and told them to put a very tiny drop onto their slide. After that, participants put a cover slip over their sample and used a delicate wipe to clean the excess dye.

Then it came time for everyone to place their slide onto the mechanical stage and take a look at their cheek sample.

The group "ooo'd" and "aaa'd" as they looked at their cells, along with the cells of whatever they might have eaten before the event.

This is far from the first time Khalil has held a class at C.H. Booth Library. He has been hosting events at the library for a year and a half, covering elephant toothpaste, strawberry DNA extractions, color chromatography experiments, and more.

What has kept him going, he said, is his long-standing interest and passion for science.

"I just want to keep introducing that to the community," Khalil said.

=====

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.