Tardigrade-based smartphone microscopy and 3D printing as a low-cost model for microbiology outreach targeting elementary school students

We developed a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) outreach program that integrates tardigrade biology with smartphone microscopy and 3D printing in a public science program hosted by the Kanagawa Institute of Industrial Science and Technology (KISTEC), Japan. Building on prior educational activities that introduced tardigrades mainly through conventional light microscopy, our approach links smartphone-based observation to the creation of 3D-printed models in a single, low-cost workflow. Between 2023 and 2025, five workshops were conducted with 249 students in grades 3-6. Participants collected local moss, recovered and enriched tardigrades from the samples, and observed their revival from anhydrobiosis using a smartphone microscope, followed by the creation of 3D-printed tardigrade models. Pre-activity questionnaires showed that although 92% of students had at least heard of tardigrades, fewer than 10% had ever used a smartphone microscope or a 3D printer, and about 90% reported high interest in these topics. Post-activity surveys indicated that interest remained high and increased modestly: 93%-95% of students reported 'very high' or 'somewhat high' interest in tardigrades, smartphone microscopes, and 3-D printers, and 95% rated the workshop as 'interesting' or 'very interesting'. In total, 74% (182/245) successfully located tardigrades in their own samples. Grade-level comparisons showed older students achieved higher understanding and fluency. This demonstrates that tardigrade biology, smartphone microscopy, and 3D printing provide an effective, low-cost microbiology outreach model for elementary education.