A “super microscope” capable of magnifying the tiniest of objects and usually only found in research labs has been taken inside an Australian prison for the first time, as part of Curtin’s Science Meets Art outreach program.

Brought into Bandyup Women’s Prison, participants were shown how to use the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) to examine samples 50 times smaller than the width of a human hair to learn more about the surface composition and topography of everyday objects to help understand how things work.

The Bandyup workshop formed part of Curtin’s Science Summer School, delivered in partnership with the Department of Justice. Science Meets Art sessions were also delivered at Casuarina Prison, while hands-on science outreach activities, including the Science of Cheese, Science of Chocolate and Science of Vitamin C, were delivered at Boronia Pre-release Centre for Women and Karnet Prison Farm.

Curtin’s outreach program is part of a wider University initiative to provide education pathways for prisoners in WA. Thank you to all involved in the success of the program, including School of Earth and Planetary Sciences staff Dr Denis Fougerouse, Dr Hugo Olierook, Dr Aaron Cavosie, Dr Uwe Kirscher, Dr Isabelle Jones, Angele Guiffard, Piero Azevedo Berquo de Sampaio and Legran Plavy Ntsiele, as well as Kirsten Hudson (Community Development), Dr Toto Olita (Centre for Crop Disease Management), Associate Professor Alison Blyth (Course Lead, Bachelor of Science and Dr Adelle Goodwin (Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy).