Hi everyone, We have a very old microscope that I inherited from a kind friend. It is not working out for me to use this for our biology assignments. The eyepiece lenses are old and full of debris and I can't seem to get them clean. I am trying to learn how to clean this, and if possible use what we have. It magnifies up to 500x with one eye piece - and up to 750 x with the other. I just can't see anything out of it. It has only one focus knob rather than 2. And I have to use a book light under it, because the light source no longer works.... If I buy another one - hopefully used. Does anyone have any recommendations that have worked for your family or warnings of models to avoid? I am scrolling through ebay and the homeschool classifieds website so far. I am cautious about Craigs list. It has been dangerous in our area. Thanks!

We've borrowed a friend's National brand Microscope, a standard homeschool model. However, we cannot get the coarse adjustment knob to turn. It seems locked. Therefore, it cannot focus anything. We've checked the instructions, etc. It has not been used in probably 10 years, & had this problem once before that someone fixed. Any suggestions? --B

We bought a new microscope last year and want a science program that will make great use of it. I have a 10-year-old (5th/6th) and an 8-year-old (3rd/4th), and we would like to do this together. Any suggestions for a kit, book, or curriculum that is microscope-reliant? Secular, please.

Hi all, As a former research scientist and microscopist, this microscope is my hands-down favorite for teaching my kids microscopy through at logic stage, and it will remain my favorite for field work for as long as they remain at home, so I was really excited when I got The Happy Scientist's newsletter today with a note that Robert Krampf had negotiated a 25% discount off of not only the microscopes (and different lens packages with the scopes) but all the accessories, including dropper pipettes, petri dishes, slides, etc, through Homeschool Buyer's Coop! Yahoo! He has a video on HSBC explaining what he likes about the Brock. =============announcement from The Happy Scientist's newsletter======== Discount on Brock Magiscope If you are in the market for a microscope, I have worked out a 25% discount on the Brock Magiscope, the field microscope I use in the microscope videos. The Brock is my favorite microscope, sturdy enough to carry into the field, but with optics that are on par with much more expensive microscopes. This is the microscope that you see in many science centers and nature museums. They like it because it is very simple to use and stands up to a lot of wear and tear. You will find the deal here: https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/brock-magiscope/?source=THS-Brock

Hi. I'm planning on using the Apologia High school Science books when the time comes. I will have a bit of money to spend this Christmas and I'm wondering if I should be buying a microscope. Ds is in grade 7 this year so I would have a couple of years before I needed one. I don't have the textbook yet so I can't check there. What says the hive? Also, if it is a yes, can you recommend a microscope and other components that I should pick up at the same time?

DS10 is entering 6th grade. His science book will cover microscopes this year so it's time to get one. But I know nothing about microscopes. I don't even know what to ask. I don't want to spend a lot. My idea of not spending a lot means I want to spend under $50. But I don't want a totally cheesy microscope either. Is it possible to get an ok microscope for $50 or under? Or am I kidding myself? How do I know what I want the microscope to do? Do they even "do" different things? Is there a magnification number to look for (I just totally made that up)? Do they come with slides? Do I want to get some sort of prepared slides? I had a microscope as a kid with some slides and I loved it. Or is there some sort of place to go to rent microscopes? (I'm making that up, too.) I just know nothing about this and don't want to flail about reinventing the wheel if The Hive already knows everything.

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.

DD is taking a 6th grade Science course (Distance Learning) from TTUISD.. She just ran into an experiment that requires a “stereomicroscope†or a “hand lensâ€. We knew that we would eventually need to buy a microscope for her, and that time may have arrived… I seem to recall seeing 1 or 2 threads on WTM, about Microscopes, in the past. If someone can give me a link, to a recent thread about Microscopes, that will be much appreciated! Also, I seem to recall people here saying they purchased something (in the USA), for about $100 that was OK. Is that price range OK or too low? Also, any comments, on the pros and cons of the different types of Microscopes, Stereo and other, will be greatly appreciated! Recommendations? TIA!

We are looking to purchase a good, quality microscope that will last for years to come. What is your favorite microscope?

We've used traditional microscopes but my husband was thinking of buying a digital one. Does anyone have any experience or any reason not to use a digital one for educational purposes? Thanks! Joan

If you have the 40x lens plus 10X eye piece. Eyeballing slides myself, I can see fine, but I've had years of practice. This would be for a 10 year old.

DS needs a microscope for science. What brands do you like for kids? He is only elementary age but loves science and if this helps him learn, I am all for it. Thanks

Dear Hive, Came across this microscope unit study by Kym Wright. Is the unit study any good and would you recommend it? I've looked at various microscope how-to books. Would anyone care to make a specific recommendation? I need something that covers microscope basics, like how to properly focus and clean, and something that tells how to prepare slides. We are total N00Bs. Thank-you, Heather

? Brand, book, page, price? Make it simple? 3rd grade science worthy.

I am getting a free :w00t: HOD CTC guide. I am a tweaker at heart and I was wondering if anyone has ever added microscope activities into the science portion. If so, what slide sets are the best? Side note: I really like ES biology for the logic stage, but I don't want to spend the extra money (or time to line them up). I also love the Christian content and narrative in Apologia science books.

HSBC is having their microscope buy and we're wanting to buy a nice microscope that will last through all 4 kids through high school (and beyond). I'm undecided on which one to get, though. We currently own National Optical 450 Stereoscope and love it! We had bought it 3 years ago through a HSBC buy as well. Now we are looking at the National Optical 134-CLED (minocular) or Accu-Scope 3002-LED-R Binocular Microscope. I searched the forums and have found numerous recommendations for the National Optical microscope but none for Accu-Scope. Would anyone own one or have thoughts on it? Besides price, would any feature lead you to buy one over the other? TIA! :001_smile:

My son is doing Apologia Biology this year and we do not have the money to buy a microscope etc. for the experiments. What should I do? Anyone in the same boat? Renee

I've been working on a syllabus for our science for the year (one semester of meteorology and one of earth science - focused on geology). [This is for a 7th and 8th grader, partly for content and partly to teach them how to do science lab reports.] We're using the JetStream online course from the National Weather Service. It has a set of "Learning Lessons" that range from simple demonstrations to what I would consider to be a hands on experiment. It made me wonder what in a science lab makes it stringent enough to be considered "with lab" on a transcript. Is it a matter of level of difficulty? Hitting standard lessons (like dissection for biology)? Or maybe how the activity is written up? Thoughts? ETA: These are musings for when they are in high school, prompted by thinking about the activities in JetStream, which are labeled as "learning lessons" but that could be either demos or labs depending on how they were presented (imho).

Any good recommendations for a course and/or a kit that could help us put a microscope to good use? DD is 11 years old, 5th grade, strong in science.

After a couple months of obsessively researching microscopes, I ordered my dream scope from microscopenet: a trinocular LED lit compound scope, 40-2000x, iris diaphragm, abbe condenser, awesome mechanical stage, even a reversed nosepeice (wasn't a big deal to me, but now I appreciate that the lenses are turned away from the back away from grubby little fingers :D). DH and I even let our kids use it (though they have to elbow their way past us! :lol: ). I didn't install the 100x objective lens (too easy to break slides with it and you need to use immersion oil, so save that for later), but even at 400x power the paramecium looks amazing. The scope was $280 delivered (model M8311), the binocular version is $250. They and Amscope have nice options around $100 as well. I also ordered (from Amscope) a hs slide set (100 slides for under $50) and a 2mp USB scope camera (Celestron 42221 from newegg for $40). All work great and if you get any scope, definitely consider those add-ons: I'll never make a stained slide of dog cardiac muscle and the camera (in my 3rd port on the scope) means I can show the images on my computer so even my 5yo can enjoy (on a Mac you use ichat to view and photobooth to record). I was nervous ordering from an unknown, but it's solid and works perfectly. There's no major manufacturer in the US anymore, and few even in Japan, so whether you order from a small hs company or any other source, the scopes are all made in China, most likely in the same factories and the same quality control. I'm glad I didn't pay a middleman $100 to buy a scope, and I couldn't have afforded this scope if I'd bought it elsewhere. One shopping hint: both Amscope and microscopenet have Ebay stores and their own internet stores - check both the online and ebay store prices as they aren't the same. The Amscope slides were cheaper on ebay and the scope was cheaper buying directly from microscopenet's site. My 2cents.

I found a SUPERB deal on an awesome HUGH quality microscope! amscope.com (same people who make Nikon cameras, and other high quality stuff) After almost earning a degree in microscope research :lol:, I desided on the 40X-1000X Binocular Biological Michroscope w/ mechanical stage. (model: B100-MS) Here are the details It is $169.00 + I paid $16.83 for UPS Ground. I know DD will not NEED this high of magnification, however, she will need it later, as she wants to be a vet.... So, hopefully, money well spent. Plus, I have two boys who will be using the scope soon enough! Hope this helps someone! :001_smile:

My shopping adventure & comparison chart is detailed here : http://live-n-learn-at-home.blogspot.com/2010/10/microscopes.html I purchased a microscope from Amscope ( http://store.amscope.com/b580b.html ) and I'm happy with my purchase. My scope is a high end model which may not be appropriate for all families and may not represent their lower end models, but, I wanted to let everyone know that it seems well made and we are having a blast. One warning, the binocular eye piece is wonderful for one person to use but if you spend a lot of time swapping between different people then it is less useful and we ended up closing one eye a lot of time because it is too hard to reset for each person. Second warning: If you have questions then use e-mail. The sales staff is excellent but I had some difficulty getting across to the technical department on the phone that I didn't need the x20 eye piece and would rather have an extra x10 eye piece with a reticule (measuring markings). Thought we got that cleared up but I guess not because I got a x10 eye piece and a x20 eye piece but no reticule. I don't think they do a lot of substitutions on their orders. But everything else was great, shipping was fast, and nothing was broken. I was getting a really sick feeling during the first 30 minutes of us looking at prepared slides and was almost ready to start calling the help desk. We couldn't get it to focus. We just saw red blobs and gray blobs. It would almost focus and we would hit the stage stop. The instructions are horrible although the scope seems great so finally I grabbed a screwdriver and started playing with things. I found the stage stop screw and raised it by a considerable amount. Now we have to be careful not to raise the stage into our objective lens but we can focus. OH MY, it is so neat!!! We went to the yard and got bugs and worms, we poked fingers for blood and scraped mouths for cells, we went through prepared slides and spent time Googling and comparing our views to ones on line. It was great. However, my great scientist son, the cause of the new biology books ( http://biology.com/ ) that are on their way and this budget busting microscope, got a headache 10 minutes into the adventure so it was my husband, daughter, and me spending our afternoon being grossed out by microscopic ewwwy bugs.

We want to do this next year; the cost is adding up quickly. Share with me your thoughts about using/having a microscope for this class.

Hi all! We're looking at getting a microscope for my boys and we want to make one investment now for their education - not having to purchase another one when they're older. Homeschool Science Tools looks to have some really good ones with a lifetime warranty, but DH can't find any outside reviews of their microscopes or their company. He asked me to check with the Hive and see what you guys think. Let me know! Angela

We need to get a microscope for HS science. Does anyone have any recommendations about type to buy and good sources to buy?