The Best Microscopes for Kids
Group shot!Credit: Live Science
We stuck live tardigrades (also called water bears) under six inexpensive microscopes: three digital microscopes and three traditional optical scopes. We wanted to see what the teensy beasties — they grow no larger than 1 millimeter, or about the thickness of a credit card — would look like through the lenses of these off-the-shelf microscopes. Along the way, we learned quite a bit about the microscopes themselves. And while this wasn't the most rigorous test to find the best scope for kids — our tester spent about 6 hours with the microscopes as a group — we wanted to share some of our insights because we think they'll be worthwhile for any parent looking to buy their child one of these products.
[Check out our pics showing what the tardigrades looked like through the lenses of these microscopes.]
Traditional microscopes
Omano Monocular Compound Microscope
The Omano was our favorite microscope thanks to its ease of use, solid construction and ability to reveal an amazing shot of a tiny tardigrade at the scope's max magnification. The Omano is the biggest, heaviest and sturdiest of the microscopes we tested.
Pros:
The Omano includes three lenses (4x, 10x and 40x magnification).
The dials were easy to operate, with an accessible but out-of-the-way control for adjusting the brightness.
The slide clips were tight and easy to use.
The lenses have a built-in arrow that lets you "point" at things you're viewing, and the scope includes a helpfulinstruction manual.
Cons:
The only complaint we have is that the power cord extends out toward the person viewing through the scope, which was annoying.
My First Lab Duo Scope
This reasonably priced microscope looks and feels like it was designed for kids; it has just the basic features one would need for a microscope experience. It's a small microscope, but it's still sturdy and doesn't move around while you're using it. Kids will be able to look at a range of things, including the itsy-bitsy tardigrade; the scope includes three lenses (4x, 10x and 40x magnification).
Pros:
The Lab Duo has a handy, easy-to-turn aperture-adjustment dial, which controls the diameter of the light beam illuminating the object being viewed.
Plus, you can light the slide from the top or bottom.
The microscope comes with thorough instructions, which budding scientists will appreciate. They include a guide to experiments using the microscope, as well as steps and tips for preparing slides.
Cons:
The clips holding the slide in place are a little on the loose side.
AmScope Kids
This beginners' microscope gets the job done, and it would be great for a young kid who is just getting interested in biology. It includes three lenses for multiple levels of magnification: 15x, 30x and 60x. But it looks and feels cheaply constructed, and there are some clunky drawbacks.
Pros:
The AmScope Kids comes with a bevy of accessories, such as prepared slides, brine shrimp eggs and hatchery for them, and a carrying case for the lot.
The instruction manual is thorough and easy to use.
You can rotate the base of the microscope to turn the bottom light on and off, which is convenient.
A built-in color filter saves you from having to stain slides.
Cons:
The construction is cheap, with a lot of plastic that looks like metal; the plastic clips work, but they seem like they'd break easily.
Even though the light is convenient to turn on and off, it's tricky to do so without touching the mirror on the other side.
The adjustment controls are finicky, and their location on the scope isn't as intuitive as the others we tested.
The eyepiece is vertical (rather than slightly slanted), which makes it uncomfortable to look through. The eyepiece opening is small, which will make it hard for parents to use but OK for kids.
The base where you place the slide is small, making it difficult to move it around without messing up the slide.
Digital Microscopes
A note on magnification numbers: Traditional and digital microscopes define magnification differently. Whereas magnification numbers for traditional microscopes is the ratio of the actual size of the object being viewed to the size the specimen appears under the microscope. The magnification numbers for digital microscopes also account for various other factors, including the computer screen (physical size of the monitor and pixel resolution) and features of the related software.