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Microscope buying advice sought

Hmmm.... they all, at first glance, look like fine beginner products. This may sound fatalistic, but children tend to break or lose things, having less than adult maturity. So I would go with whatever is the cheapest, and if she shows real interest in scientific things when she gets older, then I would get her something of much better quality.
 
when i was little, there was a kit you can buy that was a microscope and came with like 10 slides of things like bee leg, pieces of a flower and just wierd things that would be a sight under the microscope. look for somthing like that. she would enjoy t
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Yeah, that comjures up memories of those pre-suppled slides. Since I had fishtanks, I also looked at algae. Pretty neat to see paramecia and amoeba. At the risk of sounding gross, looking at a droplet of blood and seeing how yellow it was, was interesting. Try putting a sundew or butterwort leaf on the slide and see what the dew and mucilageonous substance looks like.
 
That sounds good (reads well), too.
 
Mmmm, this is a good reminder; we have a microscope that you can plug in to the computer (we bought it a while because because it was a really good deal.) While it's nothing too exceptional, it can do alright. Hopefully I'll get off my lazy bum and hook it up some time. Could get some nice CP shots with that thing!
 
...And then it hit me... why not seek the advice of another teenager - like Est!
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Now now, don't get me wrong, Jim is still definitly a lot better versed in this stuff and I'd sooner listen to him than me, but I thought I'd just mention it. Mine goes up to 200x magnification (though I'm sure newer ones go higher,) but I think that for a younger child this could be a nice thing to have. You can save pictures of the things you look at, which could have some perks to it (showing other people, printing the pictures for school, for live specimines, etc.) Still, having a normal microscope has its perks as well as it's surely more versatile (you don't need a computer) and so on.
 
  • #10
i say the Boreal Cordless Student Compound Microscope this is the only one i can see that has a fine adjustment wich is very helpful when your using that 40x lens i have one that doesn't has a fine adjustment and it is almost imposible to get a clear image on higher magnification
 
  • #11
I had a microscope when I was a kid and I LOVED it. I wish I had one now. I did buy one off eBay but it didn't work.
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I'd like to get a dissecting microscope some day. And a short wave lamp. And a rock tumbler. And a greenhouse. And...

I need a lottery ticket...
 
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