Microscope

Description:

This is a simple, rugged and inexpensive white plastic instrument marked “Patent Applied For.” It uses prisms to fold the light path, and so can be small and portable. The cardboard box is marked “The Open University McArthur Microscope.” There are two glass slides.

John McArthur (1901-1996) was a British physician who, while working in the tropics, identified the Anopheles mosquito that was causing malaria, and then promoted ways to control its spread. McArthur noted that the microscope was conceived “for rural tropical medical work, but with schools in view, and the sudden demand for 8,000 microscopes by the Open University has pressed this design forward.” It won the Design Council Award and a Duke of Edinburgh prize (both in 1972). Fortune (1972) deemed it one of the best designs of the year.

Ref: J. McArthur, “The McArthur Microscope—Open University Model,” Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 65 (1972): 438.

“Dr. John McArthur,” The New Scientist (Nov. 22, 1979): 312-314.

Date Made: ca 1970

Location: Currently not on view

Place Made: United Kingdom: England

Subject: Science & Scientific Instruments

Subject:

See more items in: Medicine and Science: Medicine, Microscopes, Science & Mathematics

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Credit Line: Oscar Richards

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: 1982.0336.02Accession Number: 1982.0336Catalog Number: 1982.0336.02

Object Name: microscope

Physical Description: plastic (overall material)Measurements: case: 2 1/4 in x 8 11/16 in x 4 13/16 in; 5.715 cm x 22.06625 cm x 12.22375 cmmicroscope: 1 in x 5 in x 3 in; 2.54 cm x 12.7 cm x 7.62 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ac-e786-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1366512

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.