The particles that matter is made of are too small to see even with a very powerful microscope, so students are asked several times to imagine what they would see with “super strong glasses” that are more powerful than any microscope. We suggest having a microscope or a strong magnifying glass on hand so you can make the point that the particles are too small to see even with these instruments.

Some teachers try to help students engage with imagination by having them cut out and even decorate their own cardboard super strong glasses using cardstock paper (Loughran, Mulhall, & Berry, 2004). Then, anytime an activity calls for students to imagine what they would see with such glasses, the teachers ask students to put them on. We’ve included a template for the cardstock cutouts here. Alternatively, if you have a class set of safety glasses/goggles, you can ask students to wear them and pretend they have “super strong” magnification.