What’s hiding in a late-summer woodland? Join us for a full day of exploring, collecting and microscopy as we discover an extraordinary miniature world that is very easy to walk straight past.
Ian Wilson will be our guide for this hands-on workshop, beginning with a morning outdoors searching for interesting specimens to bring back and investigate. We’ll look closely at the woodland around us, collecting suitable natural material and discovering just how much there is to find when you slow down and start looking.
After our morning in the field, we’ll return to the Humfrey Rooms in Northampton for an afternoon at the microscopes. This is where things get really interesting! We’ll prepare and examine some of our finds and discover the structures, patterns and tiny details that are completely invisible to the naked eye.
Leaves, seeds, mosses, fungi, lichens, wood, insects and other woodland material can all reveal fascinating microscopic features, so we never quite know what the day will uncover.
This is very much a practical, hands-on microscopy day – you’ll be collecting, investigating, preparing specimens and looking through the microscope rather than simply sitting and listening to a talk.
Whether you’re already interested in microscopy, woodland wildlife, fungi, botany, insects and natural history, or you’ve simply wondered what the natural world looks like under magnification, you’re very welcome to join us. Beginners are welcome and no specialist knowledge is needed.
Please check the NNHS website for session times. Places should be booked in advance by emailing microscopy@nnhs.info.
A small charge applies to non-NNHS members to help cover costs.