Summary

Van Leeuwenhoek's microscopes were very small simple instruments, with a single, yet strong convex lens (1 to 3 mm in diameter) mounted in a tiny hole in the body of the instrument. Combining this old microscope with the great cameras found on cell phones and tablets, we were able to create a very inexpensive microscope. To fabricate the objective you need to prepare one little glass ball and must be pushed into the hole on the clip until the front of the lens is flush with the housing. Alternatively, you could probably get away with using a lens from a disposable DVD drive.