byAndrea Kautz and Dan Kozel, Powdermill Nature Reserve Dan Kozel of Powdermill Nature Reserve has worked over many months to perfect a procedure to cast macroinvertebrates in acrylic blocks for use in the classroom. These blocks are a great way to transport and distribute normally very fragile aquatic insect specimens without destroying them. It also helps learners see the real-life scale of these insects. They can be put under microscopes to be viewed from all angles and are a great tool to use in training exercises. Dan was able, through lots of experimentation, to figure out a method for casting these delicate insects in acrylic while avoiding the common issues like bubbles and shriveling. You can download his instructions (PDF) for creating them here:
Now we have several complete training sets of macros that can be used with a wide variety of audiences in conjunction with macroinvertebrates.org. A big thanks to Dan for all of his hard work!
Ingrid
5/31/2019 21:05:35
Will there be sets for purchase in the future? 5/31/2019 22:02:27
We’re not currently planning to sell these, but we left the DIY instructions how to make a set. Thanks for your interest.
Gabe Knowles
6/5/2019 09:44:29
I was reading your tutorial on how to make your own acrylic castings, but I wonder where do you get an incubator from? I am interested in making insect specimens for elementary students to use when they conduct macroinvertebrate collections to assess local water quality of the watershed.
Andrea
6/5/2019 10:52:19
Hi Gabe, Comments are closed.
|
Project TeamAn interdisciplinary team Categories
All
Archives
June 2023
|