Re: Purchasing a student microscope

Richard J Kinch wrote:
Joe writes:


I'd like to offer an alternative to the previous answer.


Your technical advice and personal experience are sound.

The point is, this parent needs to first prove that the child has a substantial talent, interest, and perseverance in this subject, before even considering spending any significant money on instrumentation. Technical and economic questions tend to entice you into thinking that they matter, when they don't at this stage. It's like arguing spinet versus upright when the kid can't find middle C.


Your point is entirely valid, but, since I'm a bit of a gearhead, I feel that if the original reason for the purchase doesn't pan out, the buyer is left with a very useful device anyway. Sorta like "heads you win, tails you still win"! <g>

Also, to reinforce your point, it would be good to know the age of the student. Others here have made the point that young children don't seem to get much from any microscope, whether from short attention span, incomplete development of the optics/brain wiring, or other reason. A number of years ago my wife offered a summer program for her local students for a few years. It included a lot of science exploration, including microscope use. It seemed to me that the earliest age that the kids could get something out of the scopes was 10 years old. At that point, they were very enthusiastic about pond life, cheek scrapings, mineral crystals and insect life (and my blood, when I wasn't careful enough while cutting a peach!). A lot of the discovery was done with the stereo scope, and even when using the others, I think we never went above 400x, and usually less than that. I own one 100x objective, and have never used it except for the first couple of weeks after I got it. The highest objective installed in any turret is a 60x.

Joe
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