6th Grade · Science · Activity · shared by Luke Morgan
Explore Antonie van Leeuwenhoek's discovery of the invisible world and microscopic life with this free 6th Grade Science activity.
3-2-1 Countdown: The Unseen Frontier
Before you begin your countdown, review the information below about how we classify life and the tools we use to see it. This guide contains everything you need to complete the activity.
Topic Snapshot: Kingdoms and Clarity
Scientists organize all living things into large groups called Kingdoms . While there are several, three major ones include Kingdom Plantae (plants that make their own food), Kingdom Animalia (animals that eat other organisms), and Kingdom Protista (mostly single-celled organisms like the ones Leeuwenhoek discovered). To see these organisms, we use a microscope , which is a tool that uses lenses to make tiny objects look much larger. This process of making an object appear larger than its actual size is known as magnification .
Modern microscopes are complex, but two essential parts allow them to function. The eyepiece is the part you look through at the very top, which usually contains a lens. Further down, the objective lenses are the primary lenses used for viewing the specimen; these can often be rotated to change how much you are zooming in. By using these parts together, scientists can achieve high levels of clarity to study the hidden world of microbiology.
3 things you learned today about the kingdoms of life and tools of science:
2 interesting facts or connections you made using the information above:
1 question you still have about microorganisms or microscopes:
Reflection Question: If you were a scientist like Leeuwenhoek, why would it be important to have both an eyepiece and different objective lenses when looking at a new specimen from Kingdom Protista?