Microscope - yes or no

[craftymama]

We are getting ready to start Logic Stage Biology.  It is recommended to get a microscope.  For those of you who have traveled the road before me, is it worth it?  Will we use it after this year?  

[Guest]

We use ours extensively in high school biology.

[Guest]

I would say yes. I've found all of my kids love the microscope and like Kinsa said- you will definitely get your money's worth in high school biology alone. You will use it more than you think.

[Haiku]

We had a microscope that barely got used. I'd say it depends on what you plan to cover in biology. Unless you're interested in topics that require or would benefit from a microscope, I wouldn't worry about it. Any time we needed to see an image that you might look at through a microscope, we googled a picture of it.

 

FWIW, my oldest is entering her senior year as a biology major, and she says they have used microscopes in chemistry (her minor) far more than in biology ... but of course they use really expensive, specialty microscopes for chem, not the kind you'd have in your home.

[AMJ]

I say yes, get one and USE IT.

 

We bought a decent microscope when my eldest was in logic stage biology.  This was fairly early in our homeschooling efforts, and with life throwing curve balls we never got around to doing actual labs that year.

 

Fast forward to this year:  same child is now in 9th grade, doing high school biology.  We are having to take extra time to familiarize ourselves with our microscope and how it works, AND we are spending some extra time (not planned for) because we are simply enthralled with what we see and we ALL want to look and twiddle the various knobs.  Had we allowed ourselves to do this back in logic stage biology we would be starting further ahead now in high school biology AND we could have had a lot of fun in the meantime.

 

A book I highly recommend:  All Lab, No Lecture Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments, by Robert Bruce Thompson & Barbara Fritchman Thompson.  We are using this for our high school biology labs (and using Miller & Levine's Macaw biology book for a text), but it can be helpful to start perusing before high school.  The Introduction and Equipping a Home Biology Laboratory sections include a very good discussion of different types of microscopes and are very helpful in familiarizing oneself with whatever microscope they have on hand.  There is a lot of other very useful information and advice on proper work areas and set-ups, very helpful to know about and arrange ahead of time to avoid delays and frustrations.  Don't worry about working the labs at the junior high level if the student isn't ready (though you certainly can, especially the microcosms, if the student wants to and you are prepared), but do get the book for the good information.

[2_girls_mommy]

  I bought ours for logic stage biology too. I ended up not using, just because of what/how we ended up studying that year. DD took a co-op class where they did a ton of experiments and hands on there. And at home we did a bird study. So it was barely touched except for when it first came out of excitement. But she used it weekly for high school biology, and I have found myself getting it out recently for my younger dd and a babysitting child, and they really enjoyed making their own slides and seeing them. I still have two more to get through biology, so I do feel it's worth it.

[MerryAtHope]

I think it's worthwhile (we got ours when the kids were in elementary school--it was a favorite that year and also got used a lot for biology in high school). Plus, it should have good resale value and you can pass it on to another homeschooler later. 

[Joshin]

Get a field or pocket scope to start with. The ones that can hook to a smart phone camera are awesome. We prefer 60 x - 100x zoom. A good one is less than $20. It's more than enough to get you through logic -- and through high school depending on how science-heavy you are. Take it with you when you are out and about. Use it often. It's so easy to use, why not? If you find that you need more or your kid is suddenly gung-ho about science and biology and now needs a more in depth course of study, invest in a good microscope. The field scope will still see tons of use, so you aren't out any money and you don't have to invest in a more expensive scope unless you actually use it. In fact, we had to buy a second field scope because both boys insist in keeping them in their hiking packs.

 

What not to do is to get a cheap traditional microscope. These will put your kids off ever looking through the eyepiece because they are so frustrating to use.

[KristaJ]

My kids are younger, but they use our microscope all the time.  We’ve used it a lot for school, but most of the time it is because they found something cool outside and want to look at it more closely.  So even if you don’t end up using it a lot for lessons, it’s fun to have around for impromptu investigations.

[scbusf]

Get a field or pocket scope to start with. The ones that can hook to a smart phone camera are awesome. We prefer 60 x - 100x zoom. A good one is less than $20. It's more than enough to get you through logic -- and through high school depending on how science-heavy you are. Take it with you when you are out and about. Use it often. It's so easy to use, why not? If you find that you need more or your kid is suddenly gung-ho about science and biology and now needs a more in depth course of study, invest in a good microscope. The field scope will still see tons of use, so you aren't out any money and you don't have to invest in a more expensive scope unless you actually use it. In fact, we had to buy a second field scope because both boys insist in keeping them in their hiking packs.

 

What not to do is to get a cheap traditional microscope. These will put your kids off ever looking through the eyepiece because they are so frustrating to use.

 

This sounds interesting. Do you have a link to the one you use?