Bugscope is an emerging educational technology project that allows students and teachers across grades K-12 to study insects and other arthropods through remote access and control of an environmental scanning electron microscope from their classroom computers. Teachers and students in 33 schools from 18 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands were selected to participate in the first year of the project. This paper provides an overview and formative evaluation of the project in order to assess its current impact and to guide further development. Evaluation data were received from 3 surveys of 36 teachers selected for the evaluation. Only 29 teachers completed all 3 surveys, and only 2 did not submit any survey responses. About 661 students participated in Bugscope classroom sessions. Results from the first year indicate that Bugscope was successful. Students and teachers had the opportunity to mail in specimens of insects and other arthropods and then study the high magnification images on the microscope, which they controlled remotely from their school computers at a scheduled place and time. Teachers were able to integrate Bugscope into their curricula, and both students and teachers thought the sessions enhanced learning. (Contains 7 figures and 25 references.) (SLD)