® Micscape Magazine Article
WHY... MICROSCOPY?
by Maurice Smith. (Page 3 of 3)
Creating a home for Amateur
Microscopy
Many clubs exist in different countries which cater for the needs
of amateur microscopists. Yet alone and divided, they are able to
do very little to promote public awareness and help others get
started. Microscopy UK is here to help form a common focal point
for everyone interested in amateur microscopy and related study
areas.
We maintain a monthly online magazine and also publish an amateur paper magazine, called ® Micscape, which contains articles published on our web site to help inform people with no internet services. We are a small team made up of individuals from different countries. We are still funded poorly. But what we lack in size and wealth, we make up for in our enthusiasm and desire to help others.
More formal help
It is a sad indictment of the
educational system in many countries today, that focus on biology
and the use of a microscope in this area, has diminished -
especially in the pre-college institutions. We do have an educational section but - at this time - it is still
somewhat limited in design and content. We would like to help
students and teachers by offering more support in this area. Let
us know what you need us to supply on our site to help and we
will attempt to expand the educational section to suit.
Many people who become interested in amateur microscopy when young, may move on into professional microscopy. We welcome these people to help, to drop by and comment, and hopefully give a nod of approval at our relaxed and open approach.
Some clubs have semi-professional status and much expertise exists amongst their members. We would advise early contact and membership to one of these clubs for anyone seriously interested in following a career related to microscopical study and research.
Big site: big heart!
Our place on the web spans several
locations across different servers. And its getting bigger all
the time as we add more information. The best access point is
through our front page where branches to the various sections can
be accessed. Several software tools are available from other
parties to help you pull down our pages for off-line reading. As
we investigate their usefulness, we will try and advise you of
where to get these from to help you enjoy our site more.
We answer all email. Our pages are littered with contact points. You can write to any of the people involved with the work here and expect to receive a human, helpful reply. We aim to make friends with you and invite you to become friends of ours. We lack arrogance. We are humble and ordinary folk, so please contact us without intimidation or worry. We don't care if you are 6 years old or 106 years old, we appreciate all contact with others and invite you to offer help, contributions, tips, hints, images, articles to us for sharing with others around the world. Our names are published on our front screen.
Amateur help
In the coming months, we aim to
produce more and more articles and information designed to
take 
someone who has never encountered
microscopy and show them how to get up and running. Step by step,
we will cover every aspect of purchasing a microscope, preparing
specimen slides, and the use of various techniques to enhance
amateur study. We are delighted to swap information between other
amateurs, to include details and contact points of clubs around
the world so new people can find more support locally.
Armchair
amateurs
You are welcome and invited to do
no more than explore the microscopical world from the comfort of
your chair via our pages. But to enjoy this area of interest
most, it is far better to actually look at things first hand with
a magnifying
glass or by using a microscope yourself. We see our site as a means to
support real 'hands-on' amateur microscopy and hope to encourage
you to give it a go. If you wish to get started and want further
advice on how to begin, contact one of us directly by email by
clicking on any contact link in our pages. Why not start to get to know us a bit more, now.
or... explore our site!
Please report any Web problems
or offer general comments to the Micscape Editor,
via the contact on current Micscape Index.
Micscape is the on-line monthly
magazine of the Microscopy UK web
site at Microscopy-UK