rounding out a microscope birthday present ... is this good? ideas?

[serendipitous journey]

For A.'s birthday (next Friday, he'll be 8) we're giving him a microscope (the model is purchased, so that's a done deal at this point!). 

 

To make it usable and fun, I've also gotten for him

sample slides ,

slide making supplies, and

Usborne's "World of the Microscope" book. 

 

I'm going through the book now and making sure we have things on hand for the various activities.  It seems like we might want more blank slides and some slide storage boxes. 

 

Would it make the microscope much more functional/useful/popular to have a working space where it just lives?  I think I've found a good spot, near our school area but not in the middle of everything (where it would get knocked over) and could set up a simple shelf on wall rails, maybe with a sliding drawer underneath for supplies.  This would be rather a project to get together this week, but would it actually result in more frequent microscope use? 

 

thanks in advance for ideas! 

 

ETA  -- I didn't purchase slide mounting fluid, b/c of the flammability/volatility/inhalation issues. 

 

 

 

[marlowefamily]

We've just gone through the same process and they key indeed is having the kids make their own slides and having a dedicated area for the microscope.  Teach them to cover and put away the microscope properly.  Add a usb camera that plugs into the eyepiece slot and connects to a laptop.    They can make their own slideshow and send it to their friends.

 

The biggest issue is getting the right set of lenses.   Objectives that require oil are not really a great idea for younger kids.  Amscope has a 60X non-oil objective which when combined with a 20x eyepiece gives 1200 magnification.  That is the highest I can cheaply get them to.   Unfortunately, a great many interesting things in biology will require higher magnifications and/or something more advanced that an optical microscope (electron is frequently used for 10,000 - 100,000 magnification).

[serendipitous journey]

marlowefamily, thanks so much!  just curious -- do you have access to an electron microscope? 

 

Obviously (or maybe not!) we are not in a position to set EM up here, though we do have a good shop (wood-oriented, decent electronics) and are handy.  I don't suppose one can build a non-optical microscope of any sort? 

[quark]

Would it make the microscope much more functional/useful/popular to have a working space where it just lives?  I think I've found a good spot, near our school area but not in the middle of everything (where it would get knocked over) and could set up a simple shelf on wall rails, maybe with a sliding drawer underneath for supplies.  This would be rather a project to get together this week, but would it actually result in more frequent microscope use? 

 

thanks in advance for ideas! 

 

To answer the functionality/ storage question. Yes, definitely! :) I used to keep mine in our studies cabinet, then on my study desk and it never got used. Now it's on our central formal dining table and it at least gets some use. :D I put ours on a large wicker tray with sides that come up about an inch or two. The tray is large enough to hold a smaller supplies container with a lid. Inside the container are slides, prepared slides, stains, tweezers, etc. It's easy to just carry the tray off to a room if we have guests and need to use the dining table for meals. I also have a metal tray (old baking tin) on standby for wet, squishier needs.

 

For portability (when we want to do a small group class for example), I am using a small, rolling suitcase. The suitcase fits the microscope and supplies container easily but is not so large that the microscope gets shaken about. I used some styrofoam to cushion the microscope further.

 

ETA: Happy birthday to the young man! :seeya:

[serendipitous journey]

Thanks, Quark!  (and for the happy birthday wishes!!)  Your tray idea is an excellent one, I hadn't though of a Slide Stuff Containment Unit but that sounds very useful indeed ...

[serendipitous journey]

I might add a box or 2 of prepared slides and some basic stains.

 

thanks!  we do have a box of prepared slides; I'll check to see if the slide prep kit included stains, didn't think to look. 

[Miss Tick]

Sounds like a great gift!

 

We got a USB camera because we have multiple kids wanting to have a turn (but whinier).

 

Definitely try too find a very accessible home for it. I'm thinking I may try to find a bin of some kind. It came in a good box, but with the Styrofoam I can't close out enough to use the handles. If I get a bin it can all get pulled out at once (and put away in one go).

 

Some of this could be follow-on gifts, of course.

[marlowefamily]

USB camera is a must :) My kids keep sending me emails with image attachments showing me what they've found.....Today I asked them to see if they could see an example of mitosis in the onion root slide.   Sure, enough...I got 4 slightly blurry photos an hour later....I heard both of the boys saying today that they were going to post their slide photos on google+ and share with their friends.... They are also competing to produce the best photos of whatever the concept of the day is.   The bigger problem now is getting all the minor supplies and showing them how to make more permanent slides and stains/etc.  On the negative side, the covers for slides are normally made of thin glass and the boys press down on these when setting up.....about 20% of the time, we have broken glass fragments on the desk...something to be wary of.