Children today spend far too much time gazing at screens, right? So get them gazing down a microscope instead! There’s a whole new world in there, down in that clump of dust, that drop of water… Once they learn how to use a microscope properly, to prepare slides and even stain specimens, they’ll be hooked (or should that be Hooke-ed?) on the secret world of the minute! Before you know it, they’ll be asking for a high-powered confocal from Andor.com!
Here’s some easily-accessible subjects for scrutiny to get them started off.
Their hair
The ultimate in easy access, their own hair, from a brush or freshly-plucked, is a great start. It’s easy to think of hair as just a very thin tube what does grow from your head, but after looking at one through a microscope, your kids will realise it’s a (once) living, growing thing. They’ll see the scales, the root and (probably) a split-end or two. They’ll even see how the colours change once you’re up close.
Pond or river water
It’s a zoo on a slide! Dip into a pond or a local river and bring a sample home for low-power focus. You should see amoebae, algae, tiny bugs like water fleas and maybe even a few larvae. Hours of fun!
Fruit and vegetables
The good thing about plant cells is that they’re bigger and easier to see than animal cells. Start off with onion skin – an old fave of biology teachers – and then see what else you can squash, slice or tease apart for inspection.
Flower petals
Of course flowers and their petals are gorgeous to look at from any distance, but putting them under a microscope adds a whole new dimension and sense of admiration. Compare and contrast different types of flower and see how their surface texture affects the way they reflect light.
Insects and other bugs
Low-power rangers here once more! Catch a bug or two and put it in a Petri dish for interrogation (sorry, inspection). You may see just how many eyes that wee spider has, or see the tiny hairs on a fly’s legs. Best of all has to be seeing a beetle’s wings, though – you can’t help but love insects after that.
A blade of grass
Grass – we mow it, sit and walk on it (sometimes even when we’re allowed to…), and occasionally chew it; but when do we ever look closely at it? Be the change – grab a few blades and have a gander. You and your child will no longer see it as a bland, uniform green mat, but as the hard-working, well-structured basis of a major food chain.
The fabric of your clothes
In a similar way to the way we view grass, children can see fabrics as just, well, fabric. They don’t see or think about the work that’s gone into it, the texture of the weave and the individually-coloured strands that produce different shades. Choose a few different types – coarse, smooth, synthetic and natural and see how each type of fibre affects the function and feel of the cloth.
Photo: Eagle102
