Scanning & printing the world's pollen in 3D, then sharing the outputs for outreach, education & research. Tweets by @OliJWilson, funded by @NERCscience.
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ALT A QR code and link (tinyurl.com/my3Dpollen) with accompanying text: 'Tell us what to scan for the 3D Pollen Project! What's the most important pollen for your work? Take the survey to help make this into a global resource.'
ALT A white man (Oliver Wilson) in a blue shirt and beige cap smiles in a selfie taken in front of a Brazilian Araucaria tree (Araucaria angustifolia).
ALT A landscape photo of a deeply incised river valley in a plateau covered in a patchwork of green forests and fields. The location is in western Santa Catarina, southern Brazil.
ALT Sunbeams filter into the understory of a forest, highlighted by smoke from a hut visible behind a tree in the centre of the photo.
ALT A line of large Brazilian Araucaria trees (Araucaria angustifolia) stands on the edge of a plantation of erva mate (Ilex paraguariensis) shrubs under a blue sky.
![A photo of a museum interpretation board at left and small, lit windows into a wall stretching away to the right. The board reads as follows:
POLLEN
Nearly all plants rely on pollen to reproduce. Each plant species produces its own unique variety of these tiny, dust-like grains.
Pollen grains are remarkably resilient and, in some cases, have been found over 400 miles from the plant which produced them. They can be preserved for millions of years in rocks and glaciers, giving scientists insights into the development of ecosystems across millennia. Some pollen types have remained unchanged for over 100 million years.
Using a confocal laser scanning microscope, Wolfgang has worked with Dr Oliver Wilson to create the pollen sculptures on this wall, captuing their individual spikes, grooves and contours. Each species pollen is shown in full (a), along with front (b) and back (c) views, allowing you to see inside the grains.
[List of included pollen types]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GM-uwiGWkAAudUD.jpg?name=orig)
ALT A photo of a museum interpretation board at left and small, lit windows into a wall stretching away to the right. The board reads as follows: POLLEN Nearly all plants rely on pollen to reproduce. Each plant species produces its own unique variety of these tiny, dust-like grains. Pollen grains are remarkably resilient and, in some cases, have been found over 400 miles from the plant which produced them. They can be preserved for millions of years in rocks and glaciers, giving scientists insights into the development of ecosystems across millennia. Some pollen types have remained unchanged for over 100 million years. Using a confocal laser scanning microscope, Wolfgang has worked with Dr Oliver Wilson to create the pollen sculptures on this wall, captuing their individual spikes, grooves and contours. Each species pollen is shown in full (a), along with front (b) and back (c) views, allowing you to see inside the grains. [List of included pollen types]
ALT A 3D representation of a pollen grain from the canelo/Winter's bark tree is shown etched into a glass block. A large pore faces the camera, and the surface is covered with large, undulating raised walls. It can be seen that the grain is made up of four near-identical units joined together into a pyramid shape.
ALT Visitors to the exhibition (three women, facing away from the camera) look at the pollen models on display.
ALT A photo of a museum interpretation board at left and small, lit windows into a wall stretching away to the right. The board reads as follows: POLLEN Nearly all plants rely on pollen to reproduce. Each plant species produces its own unique variety of these tiny, dust-like grains. Pollen grains are remarkably resilient and, in some cases, have been found over 400 miles from the plant which produced them. They can be preserved for millions of years in rocks and glaciers, giving scientists insights into the development of ecosystems across millennia. Some pollen types have remained unchanged for over 100 million years. Using a confocal laser scanning microscope, Wolfgang has worked with Dr Oliver Wilson to create the pollen sculptures on this wall, captuing their individual spikes, grooves and contours. Each species pollen is shown in full (a), along with front (b) and back (c) views, allowing you to see inside the grains. [List of included pollen types]
ALT A 3D representation of a pollen grain from the canelo/Winter's bark tree is shown etched into a glass block. A large pore faces the camera, and the surface is covered with large, undulating raised walls. It can be seen that the grain is made up of four near-identical units joined together into a pyramid shape.
ALT Visitors to the exhibition (three women, facing away from the camera) look at the pollen models on display.
ALT An artistic image of an orchid bee, with an iridescent blue-green body and long golden proboscis extended at left. It appears to be fading into dust and the black background on the right-hand side. Image taken from publicity for the Bees: A Story Of Survival exhibition https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/whatson/world-museum/exhibition/bees-story-of-survival
ALT An exterior photo of the World Museum, Liverpool, a large Victorian building of light brown stone with a colonnaded entrance at the top of wide stairs onto a public square. Visiting school children stand on and at the bottom of the stairs.
ALT An interactive interpretation board displays an open pink (magnolia?) flower with information about pollen. There is a cross-section drawing of a round, spiky pollen grain on the left, an external view in the middle, and some text on the right: What is pollen? Pollen is a fine, powdery substance which is usually yellow. It is produced by flowers and contains the male genetic material for plant reproduction. It comes in a huge variety of amazing shapes depending on the plant species it belongs to.
ALT Lit cubes of glass are arrayed in darkness, each with 3D images of wild flowers etched into their interiors. The one nearest the camera resembles an oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare, in the Asteraceae family).
