“Of all the instruments… the microscope is perhaps the one which most aptly symbolizes this profession to the non-scientist.” [Savile Bradbury, 1967] The words of Dr. Bradbury are as true today as they were 40 years ago. From the fictional accounts of Sherlock Holmes in Victorian London, to glamorous dramas in modern Las Vegas, to documentaries on The Smithsonian Channel, forensic science is an exciting and useful introduction to the world of microscopy. The UI’s Principles of Forensic Mineralogy & Geology is a class developed to introduce students to forensic science from the vantage point of Earth Science.

The central instructional “hook” for the students: the Polarized Light Microscope (PLM). The course is open to science and non-science majors, and provides the non-scientist (and the non-geologist) with a rewarding exposer to the world of the PLM and its power as a tool to not just observe nature but as an instrument to probe it as well. A major learning outcome is the development of a practical appreciation for forensic laboratory techniques. To this end the PLM is a versatile analytical instrument and an invaluable teaching tool. Utilizing the resources of the UI’s Optical Mineralogy and Electron Microscopy Laboratories, we integrate microscopy into laboratory modules on Sands, Soils, Glass, Paint and Cosmetics, and Industrial Materials. The modules utilizing the PLM provide hands-on experience with sophisticated laboratory techniques that the students would otherwise only read about in a textbook at best, or at worst, see on television. Microscopes become more than semi-mysterious black boxes; they become a tool that is both interesting and fun to use.

Microscopy techniques such as the PLM are invaluable resources for teaching both forensic science and basic research skills. Students experience the power of what microscopy can do, and, as important, what it cannot do.