Making Microbes Visible, Relatable, and Memorable
A challenge in teaching microbiology is that microbes are invisible and therefore often abstract to learners. This makes it harder to create strong mental associations between microbial activities and the organisms responsible for them.
Visual portrayal of these actors is therefore essential. Images help learners connect scientific concepts with the living microbial world in a more concrete and memorable way.
Because microbes are invisible, they also tend to lack “personality” in the minds of children and learners. Yet personality matters—especially in education—because it makes subjects more engaging, relatable, and inspiring.
To address this, we are creating the MicroStars Portrait Galleries: concise and engaging profiles of particularly fascinating microbes, highlighting their most interesting characteristics and showcasing them through rich visual presentation.