Anglian Microscopy Group

About Us

About Us

Nationally there are very few amateur microscopy clubs or groups and previously there has been only one in East Anglia, the Iceni Microscopy Study Group based at Bergh Apton, which is a small village to the east of Norwich. The next nearest is now at Cambridge and this has left a huge geographical area where no groups exist, despite there being interest in the subject from many natural history, beekeeping or similar groups. The new Anglian Microscopy Group is being managed by a trio of experienced and enthusiastic microscopists to fill this void with a resource for all interested members of the public to enjoy for free, at a location that has good access links to the regional road network.

We are based at Crowfield Village Hall, approximately 10 minutes drive from the junction of the A14 and A140 (junction 51 of the A14). The hall is of a good size with plenty of parking outside, easily accessible for carrying equipment from vehicles into the hall, and facilities for making refreshments. Details of our meetings programme are shown below, meetings start at 10am and will run until approximately 3pm, with a break for lunch from 1pm to 2pm. You'll need to bring your own lunch but tea, coffee and biscuits will be available all day.

We usually meet on the third Saturday of the month but in March and July this changes to the fourth Saturday to accomodate other village events. CHECK THE CALENDAR BEFORE TRAVELLING!!!

Programme & Calendar

The programme is always provisional because we intend to be as flexible as we can to ensure we are addressing the needs of those who join us. In designing the programme we have taken account of the one of the main aims of the group, which is to give a structured introduction to microscopy. However, even experienced microscopists will inevitably gain knowledge and understanding from all of these sessions, a different perspective is always a learning opportunity! We do have access to a separate small room at the back of the village hall where we currently run parallel sessions in photomicrography, this will develop further as the group itself develops.

You'll also find a comprehensive Google Calendar at the bottom of the page that includes as many UK microscopy events as we can find for the rest of the year, including details of Iceni Microscopy Study Group and Quekett meetings. If you know of any others we should include then please pass them on and we'll add them. If you click on Agenda you'll get a simple list of events in date order.

Date Theory Subject Practical Excercise
18th May 2024 Pond dipping Making photos & videos of pond life
15th June 2024 Pseudoscorpions Compost safari
27th July 2024 Pollen slides Making glycerin jelly & LOCA pollen slides
17th August 2024 Bee legs Making slides (suitable for BBKA assessment)
21st September 2024 Insect wings Making slides of insect wings (suitable for BBKA)
20th October 2024 Marine Plankton Guest speaker Elizabeth Beston - SUNDAY MEETING!
16th November 2024 Owl pellets Owl pellet dissection, prey species identification
21st December 2024 Christmas plants Making slides from Christmas plant sections & pollen
18th January 2025 Microfossils Making slides from Microfossils
15th February 2025 Blood smears Making and staining blood smear slides
15th March 2025 Contrast in microscopy Looking at Phase contrast and DIC
26th April 2025 East of England meeting To be held at Crowfield, sit down lunch available!
17th May 2025 Lichens Joint meeting with Suffolk Naturalists Society
21st June 2025 Fun with feathers A ticklish subject...
26th July 2025 Bee sperm Making slides for the BBKA exam
16th August 2025 Hay infusions/Pond dipping Pond dipping if the weather is ok, otherwise hay
20th September 2025 Plant trichomes Looking at plant "hairs" and making slides
18th October 2025 Fungi Examining fungal structure, making slides of spores
15th November 2025 Fibres & Fabrics Under brightfield and polarised light
20th December 2025 Gems under the microscope Bring your Christmas jewellery!