The built Microscope kit

Smartivity bonus

Microscope bonus activities

4 missions and 3 tinker tests. Can you win all 7 stars?

Four new things to try with your Microscope. None of them are in the manual. Pick one, or try them all this week.

0 of 7 done

Tap Done! on a mission to win its star.

Your missions

  1. Mission 1 of 4

    Note detective

    • A rupee note
    • With a grown-up

    Look at a rupee note under the lens. Can you find the shiny security thread and the very tiny printed letters, like "RBI"? Ask a grown-up to hold the note.

  2. Mission 2 of 4

    Fingerprint file

    • Pencil, tape, paper

    Scribble with a pencil, rub your fingertip on it, press clear tape on your fingertip and stick the tape on white paper. Under the lens, is your print a loop, a whorl or an arch? Compare with family.

  3. Mission 3 of 4

    Spice rack

    • Kitchen spices
    • With a grown-up

    Put a pinch of dry spices on the slide: jeera, saunf, rai (mustard seeds), black pepper. Draw each one. Then a grown-up shows one in secret and you guess which.

  4. Mission 4 of 4

    Picture dots

    • Packet or newspaper

    Put a small piece of a colour picture from a biscuit packet, a magazine or a newspaper under the lens. Up close, the picture is made of tiny dots. How many different dot colours can you find?

Tinker it

Change one thing. Guess. Test 3 times. Write it down.

  1. Tinker test 1 of 3

    Light from above

    • Torch or phone light
    • Coin, foil, tissue

    What you'll change: Switch off the kit's Light Source and light the object from the front with a torch held at different angles.

    1. Put a 1-rupee coin on the round window in the middle of the Slide. Switch the Light Source ON and turn the Focus Knob until the coin is sharp. Count the details you can see, like bumps, scratches and letter edges. Predict: will light from above show more details or fewer?
    2. Switch the Light Source OFF. A grown-up stands in front of the Microscope and shines a torch (or phone light) steeply down into the gap between the Lens Tube and the Slide, about a hand's width away. Count the details again.
    3. Now the grown-up holds the light low, almost level with the Slide, so it skims across the coin. Count again. That makes 3 tries: light below, light from above at the front, light from the side.
    4. Do the same 3 tries with a scrap of silver foil (roti wrap) and a scrap of tissue.
    5. Record a table: object, light below / above / side, number of details. Which light won for each object? Was your guess right?

    What's going on: The kit's light shines up through things, so a solid coin shows as a dark shape. Light from above bounces off the surface, and low side light makes tiny bumps cast shadows, so raised details pop out. Scientists call these reflected light and raking light.

    Safety and undo: Never shine the light into anyone's eyes or into the Eye-piece Cushion. Dry things only. Do not press on the Slide or touch the lenses. To undo, put the torch away, then switch off the Light Source and lower the Stage as usual. Nothing on the kit is moved.

  2. Tinker test 2 of 3

    Focus sandwich

    • Tissue paper
    • Red, blue and green markers

    What you'll change: Stack three thin tissue layers, each with a different colour dot, and see which layer comes into focus first.

    1. A grown-up cuts 3 squares about the size of a postage stamp from one layer of a tissue paper. Lay each square on scrap paper and put a small marker dot on it: red on one, blue on one, green on one. Let the dots dry. Stack the squares so the 3 dots sit almost on top of each other, with red on top and green at the bottom.
    2. Put the stack on the round window in the middle of the Slide and switch the Light Source ON. Turn the Focus Knob until the Stage is all the way down. Predict: as you raise the Stage, which dot will turn sharp first? Can all 3 be sharp at the same time?
    3. Turn the Focus Knob slowly to raise the Stage. Write down the order in which the dots turn sharp. Do this 3 times, lowering the Stage all the way each time.
    4. Turn the stack over so green is on top and do 3 more tries. Record a table: try number, which dot was on top, order of the sharp dots. Did the order flip? Was your guess right?

    What's going on: A lens shows only one thin slice of the object sharply at a time, and the thickness of that slice is called the depth of field. As the Stage rises, the top layer reaches the sharp slice first, so you see the stack one layer at a time.

    Safety and undo: Use dry dots only. Stop turning if the tissue touches the Lens Tube. Do not press on the Slide or touch the lenses. To undo, lift off the tissue squares, then switch off the Light Source and lower the Stage as usual. Nothing on the kit is moved.

  3. Tinker test 3 of 3

    How wide is the view?

    • Transparent plastic ruler
    • Newspaper

    What you'll change: Put a clear plastic ruler on the Slide to measure how much of an object you see at once, then use that to guess the size of a tiny printed dot.

    1. Switch the Light Source ON and lower the Stage all the way. Slide a thin, transparent plastic ruler (scale) onto the Slide so the millimetre marks cross the round window. If it doesn't slide in easily, use a strip of graph paper with 1 mm squares instead. Predict: how many millimetre spaces will fit across the bright circle?
    2. Turn the Focus Knob slowly until the marks are sharp. Stop if the ruler touches the Lens Tube. Count the spaces from one edge of the circle to the other. If less than one space fits, say what part of a space you see, like "half".
    3. Move the ruler a little, focus again and count again. Do 3 tries in all and keep the middle number. This is the width of your view.
    4. Take the ruler off. A grown-up cuts a small piece of newspaper with a printed full stop (.) on it. Put it on the window and focus. About how much of the circle does the full stop fill: all, half or a quarter? Use your view width to guess how wide the full stop is in millimetres.
    5. Record a table: try number, spaces counted, full stop guess. Was your first guess about the view too big or too small?

    What's going on: A microscope shows only a small circle of the object, called the field of view. Stronger magnification makes the circle smaller. Scientists often estimate an object's size by comparing it to a field of view they have already measured.

    Safety and undo: Use the ruler only if it slides in easily with the Stage all the way down. Never push it in or force the Focus Knob. Do not press on the Slide or touch the lenses. To undo, slide the ruler or paper out, then switch off the Light Source and lower the Stage as usual. Nothing on the kit is moved.

Safety first: Dry things only. Carry the Microscope with two hands.

Missing or broken piece? We send it free: Request a part

More about the Microscope