Dillon State Park can show small natural features in a big way with the Wentzscope

NASHPORT, Ohio – Nature was under the microscope at Dillon State Park to learn about the natural world with a zoomed-in perspective.

Park naturalist Michael Durst showcased a video microscope that can be found at the nature center, along with the animals on display. There are around 15 samples of fungi and other naturally occurring items to choose from, which present the organic world in a whole new light.

“Just the fact that it allows so much additional exploration, it is not uncommon at all for folks to come in, and I don’t just mean kids but adults as well, to have a seat here and two hours passes and they don’t even realize that all that time has flown cause they’re just moving through and looking at all the things that they can possibly see that you might not be able to see otherwise,” Durst said. “And that doesn’t just all the time include what he have in dishes or what we find outside, but fingernails are really, really popular to go under there. Usually, a big gross-out moment, they put their fingernails under there and instantly regret it but then they keep going back because they just can’t look away.”

This $5,000 microscope, or Wentzscope as it’s formally known, offers the Nature Center something that traditional microscopes can’t.

“It’s great because it provides an interactive exhibit. I mean we have a few in the Nature Center, this one being pretty popular. It’s nice because we do utilize other microscopes that, you know, you can actually get a little more finer detail with but they’re microscopes that aren’t sitting out all the time. They require a little more care,” Durst said. “This guy is nice and heavy, industrial duty, he’s made for being out and about having the general public handling him.”

You can visit the Dillon State Park’s Nature Center to check out these microscopic views and follow Dillon State Park on Facebook to keep an eye out for future tiny nature events.