By Charles Crookenden
"Should I buy a compound or a stereo microscope for my child?" is perhaps the most frequently asked question to the staff at The Microscope Store, LLC. For those who do not have children already fascinated by dissection, blood cells and smears, the answer is almost always, "Buy a stereo microscope". Such a definitive response is bound to raise an outcry from some experienced microscopists, but the reality is that a stereo microscope wins the vote for a number of solid reasons.
The overwhelming reason for buying a stereo microscope is that it is the type of microscope that you need to view specimens that kids love: bugs, worms, leaves, feathers, hair. Anything that is visible to the naked eye and that can easily be found in the yard or house. Since it takes a moment to set up a stereo microscope, the child has the instant gratification of viewing what he or she just found before there is any danger of wandering attention. In our house the wonders of a housefly's eye, a bee's stinger and shiny rocks have all caused cries of delight to ring out through the house: "Look, Dad, that's so cool". Music to a parent's ears. More often than not, such cries of excitement attract younger siblings and other family members so that poor housefly can easily turn into a fully participative, cross-generational occasion. Roll over the TV and video game! We keep our stereo microscope handy so there is little danger of it being relegated to the black hole of the children's cupboard.
Part of a kid's pleasure in a stereo microscope lies in the fact that a stereo microscope is binocular and provides 3D images of the specimen. A compound microscope requires a child to squint through a single eyepiece at a flat image. In other words, that bug is real and tangible in its magnified glory.
A stereo microscope is also easier to actually operate than a compound microscope. The simplest form of stereo microscope is a dual power or turret microscope. It is perfect for that first ‘real' microscope; in other words, one that is not a toy. It has two objectives, usually 1x/3x or 2x/4x and with 10x eyepieces, therefore, two levels of magnification – 10x/30x or 20x/40x. A child needs only to learn to switch from one objective to another in order to change the magnification power and then to focus. In addition, a dual power microscope typically has a single coarse focusing knob so there is no added complication of both coarse and fine focusing found on compound microscopes.
A decent stereo microscope is also cheaper than an equivalent compound microscope as the optics are simpler. For about $250, you can buy a stereo microscope that will last
On the other hand, compound microscopes are complex. Typically, they include four of five objectives and are designed for viewing specimens not visible to the naked eye – cellular structures and the like. As a result, you have to buy prepared slides or make your own prepared slides. The results while often stunning, are not as immediately gratifying to younger children. Moreover, at higher magnifications, they are more difficult to focus. In other words, compound microscopes are better suited to older children or to younger children who are genuine enthusiasts. Typically, children begin to attune to a compound microscope around the age of 5th Grade although this is, of course, an overly simple generalization.
That said, any microscope has benefits across the generations. For the kids, it offers all sorts of cool, phantasmagoric images to equal the most evil aliens imagined. Yet it also opens their eyes to a completely different and very real perspective on the world. For parents, it is something other than a video game or TV to share with them while also lending the satisfying knowledge that, apart from being fun, it is also educational! Under a microscope, the kids can view whatever they like. They learn and perhaps most important, they retain some wonderful visual images that help fire their imagination in other ways. You will doubtless witness some innovative new alien life form drawings to prove it!
Charles is the owner of The Microscope Store, LLC (http://www.microscope.com) which is one of the largest online retailers of microscopes in the US. He is British, married to an American and has three children - twins aged 7 years and a 3 year old daughter. Visit Microscope.com!
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