A citizen science kit that aims to educate students as well as collecting data about microplastic in the field. As citizen science and microplastic are not widely discussed topics in Hong Kong, therefore I wish to initiate a conversation through my design. I hope to catch people’s attention with a uniquely designed box and an eccentric substance – ferrofluid. It has a unique property that is able to remove the presence of microplastic, this process can visualize the existence of microplastic for people.
The kit contains a jar of ferrofluid, a magnetic rod, a glass rod with a filtration unit. The filtration unit is a small portable unit that is made out of plankton netting, a net used in standard microplastic data collection. The user will pour a set amount of water through the unit and it will catch any microplastic present, the sample will then be examined under a microscope in a lab to see the quantity of microplastic in detail. Data collected can be used to compare with other data available in the literature as well as wetting up a database for the presence of microplastic in Hong Kong. With the use of this design, I hope to communicate citizen science to more people and spread the awareness of microplastic in the sea.
