Jeremake Innovations

Guide for families

Explore together

You don't need to know any science. Your questions are one of the best tools a young scientist has.

Create an accountSafety rules

The basics

How Scopey works

Scopey is a science app for students in grades 4–12. It helps them find out what living things are, and why they matter. If a teacher uses it, students join their class with a short code.

  1. 1. Take a photo

    Your child photographs a leaf, a bug, moss or a drop of pond water, with a phone camera or the Make-roscope.

  2. 2. See the likely match

    Scopey suggests what it most likely is and says how sure the match is, in plain words.

  3. 3. Save and learn

    They can save finds, read facts about each one, earn badges and take on challenges from their teacher.

Getting started

Your first 10 minutes together

  1. Create the account together

    If your child doesn't have an email address of their own, you can use yours.

  2. Do the age check together

    If your child is under 13, the next question is for you. Please answer it yourself.

  3. Read the safety rules out loud

    There are five short rules. Talk about what each one means where you live.

  4. Take a first scan

    Start with something easy nearby: a houseplant, a flower or a leaf from the yard.

Privacy

What happens to a photo

  1. Your child takes a photo or chooses one from their device.

  2. The photo is saved in your child's own private folder. Only their account can open it.

  3. To suggest what it shows, the photo is shared through a short-lived private link with Google Lens (a visual search) and Claude, an AI by Anthropic. It is not made public.

  4. The result (the likely name and how sure the match is) is saved with the scan.

  5. Your child can delete individual scans from their history at any time.

Only your child sees

  • Their scan photos
  • Their saved finds
  • Scans that aren't part of a class challenge

Their teacher sees (in a class)

  • Challenge progress
  • What challenge scans were identified as
  • Scan and badge counts
  • Work handed in for a class quiz, observation or investigation, including photos added to it

Ways to help

Questions that spark curiosity

You don't need the answers. Asking good questions is how scientists work, too.

  • What do you think it is, before you scan it?
  • Does the photo match the result? What looks the same, and what looks different?
  • Where do you think it lives, and why there?
  • How sure was the match? What kind of photo might make it surer?
  • What should we look for next?

Field safety

The five safety rules

Every student agrees to these before their first scan. They're also on the safety tips page.

  1. Rule 1

    Wear gloves with unknown specimens

    If you're touching plants, fungi or animals you can't identify, put gloves on. Some things in the wild can irritate your skin.

  2. Rule 2

    Never taste or eat samples

    Not even a tiny bit. Harmless-looking plants and mushrooms can be poisonous. Photos only.

  3. Rule 3

    Explore with a teacher or trusted adult

    Let a teacher or adult know where you're going and what you're doing. Fieldwork is safer, and more fun, with a partner.

  4. Rule 4

    Wash your hands afterwards

    Use soap and water for at least 20 seconds after handling anything from outside, and always before you eat.

  5. Rule 5

    Leave what you find

    Take a photo, not the specimen. Scopey works with photos, so you never need to pick, dig up or capture anything.

Questions

Common questions

What if the app gets it wrong?
It can. A result is a best match, shown with how sure the match is. That's a great moment to compare the photo with the result and talk about evidence, which is exactly what scientists do.
My child is under 13. What do I do?
During setup, Scopey asks for an age range. If your child is under 13, the next question is addressed to a parent, guardian or teacher, so please answer it yourself. The answer is self-reported; Scopey doesn't verify it. If you choose “Not yet”, your child is signed out and can come back later.
Can my child's teacher see their photos?
Not their scan photos: those are private to your child's account, and storage only lets the account that took a photo open it. If your child joins a class, the teacher sees challenge progress, what challenge scans were identified as, and scan and badge counts. When your child hands in a class observation or investigation, the photos they add to it are shared with that class's teacher so the work can be scored.
Do we need the Make-roscope?
No. Scopey works with any phone camera. The Make-roscope is a pocket microscope kit that clips onto a phone for a much closer look.
How do we delete scans or the account?
Your child can delete individual scans from their history. To delete the whole account, contact Jeremake Innovations. More detail is in the privacy policy.

Ready to explore together?

Making an account takes about a minute. Do it side by side.

Create an accountFor educators
Guide for families · Scopey