Live Labs
Support for live developmental and cell biology labs using sea urchins can be found on our 300 page sister site, where you will find extensive resources for these hands-on classroom labs.

Our virtual labs serve many purposes. We have designed these open-access activities for individual, group, or classroom use. In many cases the virtual lab module will be most valuable if used in preparation for hands-on lab experience. Virtual labs may also serve as alternatives to lab experiences that may not be possible in the classroom setting because of limitations imposed due to time required for the actual lab, the expense of laboratory equipment, or safety. Our Lab Bench is designed to help students have a hands-on experience and is a part of several modules.

Microscopy
Our virtual microscopy labs are designed to help students gain familiarity with the microscope as a laboratory tool. We encourage use of the virtual labs not to replace hands-on use of real lab equipment, but rather to better prepare students for the microscope lab experience.

We suggest using the virtual microscope tutorial to introduce students to the basic use of the microscope. Since there is no need to worry about damaging a virtual scope, we save care and handling of the scope for a little later. This will engage students in actual use of the scope early on and they can review these critical steps when they are preparing to handle the microscope in the lab.

Suggested order of Microscopy teaching modules:

Step I- virtual lab tutorial (under development)
structure & function of parts of the microscope
microscope quiz

Step II- virtual lab Microscope Tutorial (under development)
finding the specimen
slide focus & light adjustment-low power
high dry (40X)power focus & light adjustment
care/handling of microscope (how to carry, adjusting focus knob, adjusting eyepiece, adjusting condenser knob, cleaning lenses)
specimen prep

Step III- hands-on microscope lab (under development)
clean lenses
use prepared slides to practice low power focus & light adjustment
practice high dry (40X) power focus & light adjustment
prepare wet mount slides

Step IV- virtual Microscope Measurement lab
perspectives on size of specimen, choice of objective
calibrating the microscope
use of calibrations to measure specimen

Part V- virtual lab Microscope Tutorial (under development)
oil immersion technique

Part VI- Microscope Compare (under development)
reasons for using different kinds of scopes/illumination
types of scopes
scale and perspective from different scopes
views of specimen with different techniques

Fertilization and Development
This module introduces students to the spawning, fertilization, and early development of sea urchins. Students use the Lab Bench to set up sea urchin fertilizations that they will use in other experiments.

Urchin Anatomy
This module explores internal and external anatomy of the sea urchin in an interactive tutorial.

Predator/Prey
This module is an interactive activity that illustrates food chain principles and the sea urchin’s roles as both predator and prey.