About and Calendar

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 July this changes to the fourth Saturday to accomodate the village fete. 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
20th December 2025	Seeds under the microscope	The magic of seeds exposed!
17th January 2026	Basic human histology	Looking at the cellular structure of human tissues.
21st February 2026	Stains & staining	A look at how stains work and unusual techniques
21st March 2026	Aquatic Fungi (Hyphomycetes)	An unusual subject!
18th April 2026	Slime Moulds	East of England meeting
16th May 2026	Pond life	The world in drop of water
20th June 2026	Plant Pathogens	We'll be looking at mildews and moulds with Fay Newbery
25th July 2026	Microtomy of whole insects	A tricky technique that gives spectacular results
15th August 2026	BBKA slide making	One for the beekeepers!
19th September 2026	Woodlice	A detailed look at a much overlooked creature
17th October 2026	Tulgren funnels	Collecting organisms from leaf litter
21st November 2026	Bryophytes	Joint meeting with Suffolk Naturalists Society
19th December 2026	Bacteria	Find out how effective your dental hygiene is!