College student from Negros Occidental makes pen-sized microscope

A college student from Binalbagan, Negros Occidental built his own "pencroscope," or a pen-sized microscope.

According to Kuya Kim's report on "24 Oras," Wednesday, Ceejay Faala's makeshift microscope was made using recycled materials.

"Nag-start ako using a prototype muna or drawings. After that, nag-collect ako ng mga recycled items. Dahil love ko 'yung recycled materials. D'yan ko na in-execute 'yung lahat ng materials para gumawa ng pencroscope," Ceejay said.

Ceejay used a highlighter case and wires from his old earphone.

The pencroscope can be connected to a smartphone or TV to see the details of a specimen.

"Sa ngayon, ini-improve ko pa, especially 'yung sa magnification niya and then 'yung kanyang physical appearance, so that hindi lang siya mukhang recycled tingnan," Ceejay said.

Alberto Dela Cruz, a teacher at Carlos Hilado Memorial State University, said they are all proud of Ceejay for balancing his time and his interest in inventing.

Should his pencroscope be mass-produced, Ceejay said that it will be sold at a cheaper price compared to other microscopes.

"'Yung motivation is 'yung mga kaklase ko because I see them struggle, especially sa mga biology classes. I feel so happy because it can be a benefit sa mga estudyante, especially dealing with science," he said.

According to Kuya Kim, a microscope uses different lenses that magnify details of a specimen.

The microscope was first invented in the 16th century. Its first version was said to have been developed by Dutch optician Hans Jansen and Zacharias Janssen.

In 1609, Galileo Galilei built a simple microscope he called occhiolino, until the term microscope was coined by Giovanni Faber.

—Carby Rose Basina/MGP, GMA Integrated News