Research scientist Dr Mark Jones swopped the lab for the classroom on Wednesday to show pupils at a Teignmouth school 'the amazing world of tiny things'.
Dr Jones, who lives in the town, showed pupils at Inverteign Junior and Infants School a microscopic world as part of national Science Week.
Dr Jones – he has two children at the school – obtained funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council to buy six digital image capture computer microscopes and a wide range of other scientific kit for the schools.
The children were using the equipment to examine samples from around the school and home.
The week was to culminate in a gallery-style photographic exhibition of the images captured during the week.
Dr Jones works at Exeter University in the School of Biological Sciences as a research scientist exploring the molecular cell biology of plant development.
He said: 'I remember my excitement and interest in science started at a very early age.
'Some of the children here might be the scientists of the future, so I hope this project might have a similar effect on them.
'The equipment will remain at the school when I return to the university, so it will add a new dimension to science teaching as well.'
National Science Week is an annual event designed to raise public awareness of the contribution science makes to daily life. The Teignmouth event was one of hundreds up and down the country.