DIY: Slides

A great project for kids of any age is making a variety of microscope slides to view under your high power microscope.

When making temporary slides, the supplies needed are very basic:
1. blank slide
2. cover slip In order to make your slide, simply place the specimen on the slide, apply the cover slip so it lays flat, and view under the microscope.
3. When finished viewing, wash the slide in warm soapy water. The cover slip is quite thin so be careful that you don't break it during cleaning.

Creating permanent slides involves sealing your specimen within the slide so it lasts, and then labeling the slide so that years from now you remember what the sample was. You may also want to stain the slide, if so, this page offers great information on staining microscope slides.
1. Prepare the slide just as you would when making temporary slides.
2. When applying the cover slip, you will want to coat the very outer edges of the cover slip with a thin layer of clear nail polish or cement in order to permanently seal the cover slip to the slide.
3. Make sure your layer of adhesive is not too thick, as this will cause problems with not being able to focus properly on your specimen.

Fun slide making ideas!
1. Cheek cells from inside your mouth (use a Q-tip to scrape the inside of your mouth).
2. Pond water, or water from a muddy puddle.
3. Fine sand particles, sugar, salt, baking soda, a vitamin C tablet - any fine powdery substance. (If you have a polarizing filter - use it when viewing these items as well!)
4. Fabric fibers or strings. Cotton - a thin strand pulled off a cotton ball.
5. Soil from the back yard. A blade of grass or a thin section of a flower.

Home School Microscope Projects: Crystals

This is a great project for homeschooling because it's a fun and simple observation project that will allow students to identify various crystal shapes under a microscope. Crystal patterns come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

Supplies needed are:

1. Microscope
2. Glass Slides
3. Salts, Sugar, Lemon Juice
4. Polarizing Film

Procedure:

1. Dissolve salt in water to create saltwater.  Repeat this for other minerals you want to test. Put mixtures in clean glass slide. 

2. Let slides dry overnight until the liquid is evaporated. 

3. Observe formations at various magnification powers. Observe images in observation log. 

4. If formations are difficult to observe, you can use polarizing film. Place one piece over the light source and place the second piece over the slide on top of the stage. Adjust intensity of light illumination as needed. 

5. Observe the magnification at various powers, the film should make the crystals appear with different colors. 

6. Record all changes and observations. 

Featured Product: Student Microscope 40X-2000X Lab Binocular Biological Compound Microscope

A compound microscope is ideal for students majoring in bio/medical fields as well as for homeschooling and hobbyists. Compound microscopes are ideal for slide observations, which is what most students are required to examine in the classroom. Our Binocular Biological Compound Microscope is an ideal starter microscope for students and is on promotion right now for a low price of $198.99. 

This microscope is great for students because it can be easily upgraded with a digital camera, a darkfield adjustment, and slides. This microscope is easily customizable and easy to use. Compound microscopes will continue to be a crucial part of research in scientific fields. The compound microscope is still a mainstay in many fields and also is a wonderful tool for students to begin with when learning how to use these instruments in a laboratory. Their ability to provide higher magnifications and excellent resolution of a specimen makes the compound microscope an important tool for scientists and students alike.

Product features include: 

• High quality professional optical glass elements
• 45°inclined 360°swiveling binocular head
• Easy to mount electronic eyepiece (digital microscope camera)
• 8 levels of magnification: 40X-80X-100X-200X-400X-800X-1000X-2000X
• 4 achromatic objectives 
• 2 pairs of eyepieces: WF10X and WF20X
• Sliding interpupillary distance adjustment
• Ocular diopter adjustable on both eyetubes
• Variable intensity illumination
• Coaxial coarse and fine focus adjustment
• Focusing knobs on both sides
• Stage upward moving lock protects objectives and slides
• Stain-resistant double layer mechanical stage
• NA1.25 Abbe Condenser with iris diaphragm & filters
• Rack and pinion adjustment condenser
• Product GS and CE approved

Microscopes for Homeschoolers

Microscopes are beneficial for students who are homeschooled because it enables them to have the same type of exposure to science and experiments as those enrolled in public education institutions. 

 

The first thing you need to decide is what kind of observations your child/student will be expected to view and what kind of experiments he/she will partake in during the school year. Next you will need to decide if it is best to purchase a compound or stereo microscope. 

A compound microscope is only useful got looking at slides, which may get rather boring for students, slides must be purchased or made at home, which can be tedious and time consuming. A stereo microscope will enable your student to view live specimens, 3-D objects, and some slide use. 

For normal observations, you probably will not need a microscope with a magnification higher than 400X. 400X magnification is generally the highest level students use in most high school courses. 

Experiment Ideas:

If you decide to purchase a stereo microscope you can fill a small plastic tray with pond water and have them look through the side of the container with the microscope. If you decide to purchase a compound microscope you can purchase plain slides and cover slips and make your own slides out of vegetable peels, plants, and other transparent 3-D objects.