Discover the tiny wonders of the Territory!
SCOPE is a photomicrography (the art of taking photos through a microscope) competition, giving Territorians the opportunity to explore the tiniest details of the Territory.
In 2023, Sixty smartphone microscope converters were distributed to over 30 NT schools and libraries, giving kids the opportunity to explore the world of minutia around them and share their experiences with the whole of the Northern Territory. Now it’s your turn to marvel at the results.
Early Primary (Age 6-9)
WINNER This is a megafauna fossil which is around 8 million years old. It comes from a fossil site called Alcoota, which is 200 km north-east of Alice Springs. - Elvis
SHORTLISTED This little spider was hiding amongst some eremophila plant and kept running away really fast but I managed to take this photo at the end and capture his eyes and tiny hair on his legs. - Jasmine
PEOPLE'S CHOICE Plants start their lives as tiny seeds just like this little fella. Some seeds are round, flat or tear shaped. Seedlings need water oxygen and the right temperature for the germination process. - Brendan
SHORTLISTED We have been learning about feral animals and how we can find them across the IPA. This is poo from a horse which is an introduced species and you can see that it eats our special grass. I found it near the billabong. - Sylvario
SHORTLISTED I took a photo of a dead spider. It's eight red eyes were still open. It looks alive. I was surprised the spider was furry. - Ailsa
SHORTLISTED Pandanus is a very sharp plant and hurts people but it can also be made into beautiful things like baskets and earrings. - Luka
SHORTLISTED My photo is of a grasshopper found on the long grass in our school garden beds. - Keleesha
During our weekly Learning on Country Bush Trip, Lathan chose a small pink bush flower to explore closer and take its photo. - Lathan
dead ant. - Harry
Golden sides. Cold and shiny. Scratches. Shadows. Bright but full of darkness. A gold and silver ring. - Aurora
I took a photo of a newspaper. I wanted to see what it was made of and how the ink reacts with it. It was interesting to see all the swirly lines in the paper. - Alexa
Cultural burning is an Aboriginal land management practice used for 60,000 years to reduce fire hazards, encourage new growth, and protect wildlife living on Country. - Nathan
Upper Primary (Age 10-12)
WINNER This is the leg bone of a buffalo that we found on our Bush Trip. Buffalo are feral animals and can destroy lots of the bush. I liked how this looked under the microscope and you can see what the bone is made from. - Sham
PEOPLE'S CHOICE Billy Button flower. This is a Billy Button flower. It was found out bush near the sea. It has pink petals and an orange stem. - Ines
SHORTLISTED This is a desert rose filament. I was surprised to see hairs. I wonder if these hairs dust pollen of insects crawling into the flower. - Violet
SHORTLISTED We have these flowers at school and the little kids always pick them and put them in their hair. I thought it would be cool to show them what it looks like up close and zoomed in. - Quincey
SHORTLISTED Termites have been around since the time of the dinosaurs! They build tunnels in mud to get to and from their nests whilst destructing trees. - Charlize
SHORTLISTED My photo is of the stigma and stamen of a hibiscus flower on a hibiscus plant found in one of the school’s native garden beds. - Vanessa
SHORTLISTED This is a torn off piece of blood wood bark. It is interesting because of all the jagged edges and all the spics and specs. - William
This is the crown of a pineapple. The crown, if cut off and replanted, can become another plant, like how NT rebuilt after Cyclone Tracy. - Amelie
A white edged, dark purple Golden Dew Drop, growing in tropical climates. A fast growing species that can be tamed with regular pruning. - Penelope
Amber tiger eye, our favourite classroom specimen of a metamorphic rock. - Class 3/4 B
I took this photo because I liked the way the leaves of the grass stuck out and the way the colour popped in the light. - Danny
I have taken a photo of small dead spider on a piece of gum tree. I could not see it without the microscope. It just looked like some white marks on the wood. To my surprise as I scanned over the wood I found this. It is colourful, clear transparent and still in good form with 8 legs intact and is classed as an arachnid. I like this photo because even though it's dead it looks like there is life in it with the natural colours and webs it really comes back to life. - Helava
A flower in our school yard. - Mia
Secondary (Age 13+)
WINNER This is the body of a 4 o’clock moth that was found out bush by our daluk mayh team. The colours are so bright and beautiful and really caught my eye. The daluk (female) mayh (animal) team are ecologists and rangers that help us learn about our country and how we can can care for it - I’m going to be a ranger soon. - Maureen
SHORTLISTED Photograph of a lady beetle. - Lola
PEOPLE'S CHOICE Mammillaria matudae. Thumb Cactus. From the arid terrains of Mexico. A violent voyage across the seven seas, Harbouring on the red dirt of the Territory. - Ann Mary
SHORTLISTED Invisible colours and textures revealed the beautiful lotus flower that lives in the waters. The seeds were very special to indigenous people as food. - Leilani
SHORTLISTED A hermit crab peeks out from its shell at the giant who found it. Notice hairs on its legs and ommatidium in its unblinking eyes. - Abigail
SHORTLISTED A breathtaking image of a butterfly is captured, as its pupils are emphasised by the striking colours of its fury body as it stares into the souls strolling past. - Jeanna
SHORTLISTED Mosquito pupae, found in pond water. This this the second stage about two weeks after hatching from their eggs. It is the stage after the wriggler stage before it starts becoming a fully grown mosquito. - Anna
The stunning colours of the stamen of a flower I found at school. I like the way the focus is related to the plane of focus - some areas are out of focus but it is still a good photo. - Macenzee
Synthetic fibre of our pinboards in the classroom. - Ollie
Guard cells found on the underside of turmeric leaves. Guard cells are the kidney bean shaped sells that make a pore called stomata that allows the exchange of gases needed in the process of photosynthesis. - Christina
Ostracod, a microscopic organism found in fresh water. It is a bivalve meaning that it has two shells like a mussel or clam and swims with a leg type appendage. It is one of the first microorganisms on Earth. - Teresa