KS5 Microscopy and plant transport structures

Pupils have the opportunity to produce a slide of plant stem tissue using staining techniques to identify xylem, phloem and sclerenchyma.

In addition they develop their microscopy skills using different magnifications, taking measurements with a graticule and producing annotated scientific drawings of their slides. They see examples of wood slides used by Kew scientists and discover how they use them to help prevent the illegal trade in timber.

This session makes up a half day or part of a full day visit that is tailored to suit the needs of your group and is planned in detail with a Wakehurst teacher prior to the visit. One other workshop makes up a full day visit.

Learning outcomes

Educational visits at Wakehurst support and enhance the curriculum offered in schools and colleges. We aim to give pupils opportunities that are difficult or impossible to create in the school or college environment.

We design our sessions to match the learning outcomes in the National Curriculum and exam board specifications.

This session offers pupils the opportunity to:

• Practice microscope techniques at high and low power magnification including the use of a graticule.
• Produce scientific drawings from observations with annotations.
• Use staining techniques to identify sclerenchyma, phloem sieve tubes and companion cells, xylem vessels and their location within stems.
• Explore the applications of these techniques in identifying different species.
• Consider their importance in taxonomy and conservation.

Curriculum links 

This KS5 visit supports and enhances the curriculum offered in schools and colleges.