Carl Sagan once said, "At least part of the time, Science should be taught as it is practiced". With MCL units, students formulate their questions, design their experiments, rapidly collect their data, and analyze it right in the lab.

Students using MicroLab stay most of the lab period because they can evaluate their results with their instructor present to help. If necessary, they can revise their strategy and run the experiment again. Both proof-of-concept and inquiry experiments are carried through to their conclusion in the lab.

Departments can justify lab hours to their administration by demonstrating constructive use of time and student involvement in both the active and thought-intensive processes of science.

In addition to general purpose sensor measurements such as temperature, pressure and pH, instrument programs are provided for spectrophotometry, kinetics, fluorescence, electrochemistry, turbidity and gas chromatography. Data can be analyzed with MicroLab's integrated graphical analysis software, or saved directly to an optional EXCEL spreadsheet.

Additional factors are safety and chemical cost. High resolution data and resulting small sample size mean increased safety, lower supply and disposal costs, and little need for expensive fume hood facilities.

A:  Dell Latitude E5400 Laptop- Professional network certified computer. Dual core processor 2.00 GHz, 800 mHz FSB, 2 GB memory, 80 GB harddrive, Windows XP operating system, 14.1'' WXGA LCD Screen. Software site license included.

B:   Kensington security cable, six ft. key lock- The security cable secures the MCL cabinet, and thence to a secure laboratory object.

C:  Sensor Storage- One pH / conductance probe; two temperature sensors; spectrophotometer light shield.

E: MicroLab FS-522 Lab Interface- with FASTspec™ scanning spectrophotometer. "A" Package includes thermistor, pressure syringe, and vial kit. "C" Package adds pH probe, drop counter and drop dispenser. "E" Package adds the electrochemistry power supply.

F:  The MCL Case- is 14.5'' wide x 17'' long x 7.25'' high. With a footprint on the lab bench slightly larger than an open laboratory manual; non-skid rubber feet and 7lbs weight hold the MCL securely on the lab bench.

• Scanning spectrophotometer, UV-VIS-Near IR (360-940 nm) FASTspec™ technology simultaneously measures Fluorescence / Absorbance / Scatter / Transmission
  
• Beer's Law, Kinetics, and Color Comparison software.
• 16-wavelength turbidity / nephelometry / backscatter turbidity measurements.
• Instrument programs for Energy of Light, Electrochemistry, fraction collecting, gas chromatography.
  
• Integrated pH / Redox / Dissolved Oxygen sensor amplifiers.
• Integrated 0-2 atm pressure sensor.
  
• Three multi-purpose sensor ports - temperature, light and more.
  
• Integrated high resolution -200 to + 1000°C thermocouple input
• Four range voltage input: ±100 mV, 1.0V, 2.5V, 10.0V.
• Integrated dual range conductance input.
• Counter input for drop counters and Geiger counters.
  
• AC/DC power for laboratory or field use.

• Processor:
• Intel® Celeron™ 575 (2.00GHz, 1M L2 Cache, 667Mhz FSB)
• Memory:
• 1.0GB, DDR2-800 SDRAM, 1 DIMM
• Storage:
• 80GB Hard Drive
• Optical Drive:
• 24X CD-RW/DVD w/ Cyberlink PowerDVD™
• LCD Panel:
• 14.1 inch Wide Screen WXGA LCD Panel
• Video Card:
• Mobile Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD
• Wi-Fi Wireless Card
• Dell Wireless™ 1397 802.11b/g Mini Card
• Weight & Dimensions:
• Starting weight: 5.58 lbs/2.54 kg⁷
  Width: 13.31"/338mm
  Depth: 9.61"/244mm
  Height: 1.46"/37
• Mouse included.
• Four USB ports.
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional Operating system.