Reuben Samson

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Week 1

This hands on project required no impressive orientation to leave us feeling cautiously optimistic. An hour and a half in and we had already built our first ever digital microscopes out of a webcam and some elementary school level craft supplies. After testing several samples of soil, leaves and water around campus for any visible signs of movement by an organism (which was surprisingly hard considering how they are supposedly EVERYWHERE), we managed to locate and track the movements of an unidentified something which was a cross between a hydra and a hook-worm in a sample of mossy water. The resultant micro-organic-orchestra/disco was exactly as hoped: wonderfully weird. So yeah, cautiously optimistic.


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The makeshift-microscope was built by reversing the lens of a standard webcam and creating a simple mechanism to hold it in place over a platform supporting the slide, while an artificial light source provided improved visibility in the targeted area. Some of the samples we looked at were pollen from a flower, muddy water, decomposing leaves, apple peel and finally pond scum. The specimen that we were able to locate was most probably "hydra" because it seemed to be moving in a somersault-pattern, but we can't say for sure. Either way, the experiment was a success. Hence, proved: anyone can do science experiments in the comfort of their home.


Week 2 Ganzfeld Experiment:

Wine Brewing: the following is a simple family recipe for homemade red wine that my mom uses every Christmas.

The ingredients are fairly simple and subjective to change depending on ones taste.

GRAPE JUICE: Enough freshly squeezed grape juice to fill the bottle(s) of your choice. FLAVORING & YEAST: For 1 bottle – 1 cm of ginger, honey for sweetening (to taste), 2 cinnamon barks, 1 flat tablespoon of bakers yeast.

Boil grape guice, ginger and cinnamon. Add honey to cut the sharpness and sweeten to taste. Strain out the cinnamon barks and ginger and let the juice cool down. When it is lukewarm, activate yeast (mix in a small amount of warm water and let rest for a minute ) and pour it into the juice. Fill into a bottle (NOT the one you plan on serving it in) and keep in a dark cool place. (To allow air to escape while preventing oxygen from entering, make a simple apparatus that allows the gas to pass through a pipe placed in strong alcohol, which acts as a disinfectant of sorts.) Check after a week, there should be a thick brown foam at the top. Remove it without letting it mix in with the wine. This can be done either with a decanter or a fine muslin cloth strainer. Pour wine back in container. Repeat process weekly for a month. One last fine strain, then bottle, chill and serve.


Week 3 Hackteria Lab Poster Design: 2 possibilities for the branding/identity/publicity posters for Hackteria Lab 2013.

Option A:

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Option B:

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