Homeschooling Chronicles - Microscopes

The microscope was always a tool that I found both fascinating and a little off-putting. In my schooling, I didn’t come into contact with one until high school biology. Even then, I only spent a couple of class periods looking at slides. My education wasn't mediocre; microscope use just wasn't an emphasis at my school. So, with this in my mind, I decided early on in my homeschooling experience to purchase a microscope to use for lessons.

I was excited by the possibilities, but then I had to confront reality. My husband and I didn’t want to buy a cheap variety of microscope, but electron microscopes were out of our price range by a long shot. The plan was to incorporate the microscope into our curriculum to emphasize the concept that the microscope is an instrument in discovering a hidden world. We finally decided on a model that you can plug into the computer. This allowed us to combine both technologies in an exciting way. It also eliminated some of the more frustrating aspects of a microscope. I always had difficulty looking through the eye piece. Single or double, it didn’t matter. I didn’t want my children frustrated and discouraged with the simple task of trying to see the image. With the use of this type of microscope, the discovery of things that cannot be viewed by the naked eye was a wonder. 

Initially, we captured live insects and placed them on a tray. We observed their behavior and marveled at what they “really” looked like. We also took fiber and hair samples and compared.  It was like a game. The kids were able to capture live video and manipulate the image. Unfortunately, after the fun, the microscope was seen as mundane. It was no longer the new toy. 

This was when I realized that my children viewed the microscope as a form of entertainment, rather than as a scientific tool. So, with the aide of some library books and the Internet, we began to really study the microscope. We looked into the history and evolution of early models, and compared them to present day examples. We even took a class about using compound microscopes. My kids had trouble with the eye piece at first, but eventually figured out how to focus. We studied how magnification works, and what it means to calculate the total magnifying power.   

It was amazing how combining information with an entertainment factor provided a much more motivating experience. I have a renewed respect for the science behind the microscope and the worlds it illuminates, and so do my children.