Equipment and suppliers
Setting up your own activities with microscopes is easy, and good quality educational microscopes can be surprisingly cheap. Here, we share information on some of the equipment we use:
We wish to stress that we have absolutely no financial incentive to recommend particular manufacturers, so do shop around!
Educational microscopes
In the UK suppliers of a wide range of educational microscopes include:
Which model of microscope do you recommend?
This really depends on your budget and the age of the users. We are very happy with our choice of microscopes for the M4S school visits (ages 8-11):
Low magnification for 3D specimens – We use the DM6 stereomicroscope. These magnify either 20x or 50x (depending on the model) and have built in LED illumination powered by two AA batteries. They cost ~ £75 + VAT, and are very light and easy to use.
For the demonstrations on a computer or whiteboard, and taking images, we use a handheld digital microscope from the DinoLite range or the Brunel handheld range. These microscopes have an inbuilt camera and are fun to use. To get good results, a stand for the microscope is needed, with the Brunel model fitting several stands that are available online.
High magnification of thin specimens – We use the monocular SP30 compound microscope which costs around £225 + VAT. These microscopes are very simple and robust, but they have very good lenses and LED illumination. You can choose different combinations of objectives; we would recommend using 4x or 10x, 40x and 60x. This will allow you to view a good range of cell types from large (e.g. plant cells) to very small (e.g. bacteria).
But there are also cheaper options for budget microscopes (e.g. SP27 sold by Brunel), so it is well worth doing some research. We have found that microscopes (handheld or otherwise) that are available for less that £50 online often do not have high quality optics but they may be sufficient for imaging several samples.
TIPS:
- Choose microscopes that have LED illumination (to avoid burns) and that are battery operated (so you don’t have wires cluttering the working area).
- Ask a representative from the microscope distributor for advice – they will be able to help you choose a microscope for your needs and budget.
Suppliers
| Material | Suppliers (click on supplier name for details and price of specific products) |
| Glass microscope slides | Brunel Microscopes Ltd Amazon |
| Glass coverslips | Brunel Microscopes Ltd. Rapid Amazon |
| Plastic coverslips (safer alternative to glass) | Agar Scientific Amazon |
| Lens Cleaning Tissue | Brunel Microscopes Ltd. Amazon |
| Plastic pipettes | Amazon |
| Petri dishes | Brunel Microscopes Ltd. Amazon |
| Scalpel blades and handles (for use by adults only) | Amazon |
| Sterile cotton swabs | Amazon |
| Lugol/iodine solution | Amazon Brunel Microscopes Ltd. |
| Methylene Blue | Amazon This can also be purchased from many aquatic or pet stores |
| Daphnia | Blades Biological Ltd |
| Elodea | Blades Biological Ltd |
| Pond life/Protozoa | Blades Biological Ltd |
