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Great plug Kathy,
Catherine

ISEN-ASTC-L automatic digest system wrote:

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> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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> Subject:
> ISEN-ASTC-L Digest - 8 Sep 2006 to 9 Sep 2006 (#2006-218)
> From:
> ISEN-ASTC-L automatic digest system <[log in to unmask]>
> Date:
> Sun, 10 Sep 2006 00:00:38 -0400
> To:
> [log in to unmask]
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>There is 1 message totalling 100 lines in this issue.
>
>Topics of the day:
>
>  1. video microscopes
>
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> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subject:
> video microscopes
> From:
> Kathy Krafft <[log in to unmask]>
> Date:
> Sat, 9 Sep 2006 09:01:46 -0400
>
>
> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related 
> institutions.
> ***************************************************************************** 
>
>
>     We use the hand-held Scalar scopes-- both in a traveling 
> exhibition on magnification and cells (It's a Nano World) and recently 
> in a permanent exhibit at our museum. 
>    As mentioned, we do encase the camera, lens, and cord in a custom 
> housing of modified electrical fittings to protect them:   the plastic 
> cover on the lens is somewhat vulnerable but can be recessed into the 
> housing, the cord can get bent and damaged with a lot of use, and the 
> camera is valuable;   this also enables us to set the location for the 
> lenses so that items are in focus as you touch things with the 
> housing, and also keep visitors from changing the buttons on the 
> camera to off, etc.  You can see one set of photos at
>
> http://www.itsananoworld.org/magnification2.htm
>
> and I'd be happy to send a few digital photos to anyone who wishes.
>
>     They are versatile, as you can put in different lenses-- we use 
> two, one each with 30X and 200x lenses.  This makes for a real "Wow!" 
> factor for our visitors, who are usually quite surprised to see how 
> their hair, clothing, skin, etc. look when really magnified.  The 200X 
> is of course a bit harder to use, with a narrower depth of field-- so 
> having samples that include fuzzy fabrics, carpet, and the like is a 
> good idea. 
>     Being able to manipulate and move around the camera, especially to 
> look at themselves, makes this whole weird new world of 
> zoom/magnification a lot more tangible to our visitors.
>
>     We switched to the L-2 model ~3 years ago for several reasons (any 
> of those things might have changed/improved--  I haven't seen a VL-7 
> in a long time now):
>
> 1)   the lenses have a much better bayonet mechanism to secure them to 
> the camera body.
>
> 2)  the cord is more durable and easier for us to protect-- the old 
> VL-7 had a coiled phone-type cord that was problematic with a lot of use
>
> 3)  I think the L-2 model may not generate as much heat altho' we 
> still pull some air by the camera body (via a fan inside the cabinet, 
> and through the flexible conduit);  in prototyping we found the VL-7 
> camera was pretty warm and would eventually stop working (permanently) 
> if it was encased with no cooling.
>
>     With all the use in the traveling exhibition, we do seem to 
> replace the lenses every 6-9 months, and the camera bodies every year 
> or so.
>
> Kathy Krafft
> Exhibit Projects Director
> Sciencenter
> Ithaca, NY
> 607-272-0600 ext 25
>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Subject:
>> Re: Video Microscopes
>> From:
>> Anna Grace <[log in to unmask]>
>> Date:
>> Fri, 8 Sep 2006 14:41:45 -0700
>>
>>
>> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology 
>> Centers
>> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related 
>> institutions.
>> ***************************************************************************** 
>>
>>
>> We have these Scalar scopes from School Technology Resources, too, 
>> but  we have the VL-7 models because they are much more durable and 
>> have a  better picture quality.  They can be modified and housed to 
>> make them  even more durable.  Ithaca Science Center developed a way 
>> to do this.
>>
>> Anna
>>
>>
>
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-- 
Catherine McCarthy
Grant Projects Director
Sciencenter  
601 First Street, Ithaca, NY 14850
607-272-0600 ext 33   fax: 607-277-7469
mailto:[log in to unmask]
Museum Website:  http://www.sciencenter.org
Exhibition Rentals and Sales:  http://www.sciencenterexhibits.org





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