First Loaner Out the Door

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mikemarotta
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First Loaner Out the Door

#1 Post by mikemarotta » Wed Apr 06, 2022 5:18 pm

Yesterday, my barber said that his 9-year old daughter is interested in science and wants a telescope for her 10th birthday. Today, I brought him an AmScope and a box of prepared slides to take to her for week to see how she does with it.
AmScope One (2) (s).jpeg
AmScope One (2) (s).jpeg (275.1 KiB) Viewed 2084 times
A microscope is a lot easier to use. You have controlled conditions and controlled lighting. With a telescope you are in the dark. Lining up the target is much easier in a microscope. Both of them require looking to an eyepiece and focusing. The basic skills are transferable.

The slides were Learning Resources 6 slides with 4 each, bugs, plants, etc. And I included 2 blank slides that I had.

I will let you know what they report.

Best Regards,
Mike M.
-----------------------------
Michael E. Marotta
Technical Writer

dtsh
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Re: First Loaner Out the Door

#2 Post by dtsh » Wed Apr 06, 2022 5:38 pm

It's a pleasant experience, introducing people (young and less young) to a new pursuit. I have a few that are out on perpetual loan; makes it easier as microscopes not in my home don't count when I'm asked how many I have and exactly how many is "enough" :lol:

It seems to me that some basic instruction goes a long ways toward forming a lasting interest as frustration can be a real killer to motivation. Simple things like how to use the condenser and some of the trade offs in stopping it down for contrast at the expense of resolution, nothing terribly complex but enough that a person can get a working grasp without having to study a lot at first.....that comes later when interest is hooked and it becomes a reliable behavior as they want to do more.

I'm sure there are some excellent basic instructional videos and texts, I should probably exert the effort to find, review, and figure out a decent way of sharing the info.

DrPhoxinus
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Re: First Loaner Out the Door

#3 Post by DrPhoxinus » Thu Apr 07, 2022 11:45 am

I have to agree that Microscopy is so much more reliable and less frustrating than astronomy particularly for the young.
NSF found it is important to introduce kids early.

EYE C U
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Re: First Loaner Out the Door

#4 Post by EYE C U » Thu Apr 07, 2022 5:06 pm

gave a scope to my grand kids..never heard a thing about it. ;-/

DrPhoxinus
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Re: First Loaner Out the Door

#5 Post by DrPhoxinus » Thu Apr 07, 2022 6:51 pm

A couple of cavity slides and instructions for a hay infusion give kids a way of creating a dynamic micro zoo.
prepared slides only so far.

As to telescopes, southeastern Michigan is probably in the top 10 worst places for astronomy.
I have 4 telescopes including an Orion XT12.

I can attest to the Law that saws "The frequency of a telescope's use is the inverse square of its aperture. "

dtsh
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Re: First Loaner Out the Door

#6 Post by dtsh » Thu Apr 07, 2022 7:02 pm

DrPhoxinus wrote:
Thu Apr 07, 2022 6:51 pm
A couple of cavity slides and instructions for a hay infusion give kids a way of creating a dynamic micro zoo.
prepared slides only so far.
I agree wholeheartedly. Prepared slides are great for when you know what you want to look at or for specimens that need staining, but for general curiosity nothing beats an active drop of water.
DrPhoxinus wrote:
Thu Apr 07, 2022 6:51 pm
As to telescopes, southeastern Michigan is probably in the top 10 worst places for astronomy.
I have 4 telescopes including an Orion XT12.

I can attest to the Law that saws "The frequency of a telescope's use is the inverse square of its aperture. "
Isn't that the truth! The skies here are significantly more light polluted than my old home with the subsequent effect on telescope use. I have a 12" as well and I gotta say, I liked my 8" dob best. I think 8" provides the best combo of aperture and F-ratio that makes seeing more easy, but isn't so fast that one needs to invest heavily into eyepieces or coma correctors; plus it's significantly easier to move around than the 12". Still, I've used the microscopes far, far more often in the past years.

PeteM
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Re: First Loaner Out the Door

#7 Post by PeteM » Thu Apr 07, 2022 7:29 pm

EYE C U wrote:
Thu Apr 07, 2022 5:06 pm
gave a scope to my grand kids..never heard a thing about it. ;-/
Two things that build interest in my experience:

1) Give a stereo microscope. Kids can grab most anything and get a "wow" and a "what's that?" without carefully slicing thin specimens and preparing a slide. The exception would be pond critters - also easy and fascinating, though perhaps best with phase contrast.

2) Make exploration part of a weekly routine for a parent or grandparent and the kids. You go to the beach, or farmer's market, take a hike, or work on a hobby? Find one thing each week to explore and learn about - even if it's only for ten or fifteen minutes. Share the interest and make it a regular thing. Over time, the kids (and siblings) are off on their own.

What often happens, otherwise, is that kids get a cheap microscope and a box of slides. They look at the slides once or twice. Then the scope then gets left in a closet, maybe with faint memories that have old folks wondering what they missed decades later.

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FatBassPlayer
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Re: First Loaner Out the Door

#8 Post by FatBassPlayer » Fri Apr 08, 2022 1:13 am

Interesting point by the o.p. that astronomy skills are transferrable to microscopy. I hadn't thought about that, but having a lifelong interest in astronomy and owning telescopes in the past, I agree entirely. Finding the target is certainly easier in microscopy (unless you use a goto mount, but that's cheating ;) ), and the procedure of using low power, wide field lenses and gradually "zooming in" is exactly the same. Not to mention the satisfaction of slowly scanning the sky or slide, finding something of interest, then identifying it.
I have only been using my microscope for three weeks or so and have already pulled the trigger on a much superior instrument, so I'm thinking about giving my current one to my 12-year-old god-daughter on long-term loan to see if it sparks an interest.
Picasso is dead,
Mozart is dead,
Einstein is dead,
And I ain't feeling great.

EYE C U
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Re: First Loaner Out the Door

#9 Post by EYE C U » Fri Apr 08, 2022 1:28 am

it was a zeiss stereo... think its more about the parents ;-/


PeteM wrote:
Thu Apr 07, 2022 7:29 pm
EYE C U wrote:
Thu Apr 07, 2022 5:06 pm
gave a scope to my grand kids..never heard a thing about it. ;-/
Two things that build interest in my experience:

1) Give a stereo microscope. Kids can grab most anything and get a "wow" and a "what's that?" without carefully slicing thin specimens and preparing a slide. The exception would be pond critters - also easy and fascinating, though perhaps best with phase contrast.

2) Make exploration part of a weekly routine for a parent or grandparent and the kids. You go to the beach, or farmer's market, take a hike, or work on a hobby? Find one thing each week to explore and learn about - even if it's only for ten or fifteen minutes. Share the interest and make it a regular thing. Over time, the kids (and siblings) are off on their own.

What often happens, otherwise, is that kids get a cheap microscope and a box of slides. They look at the slides once or twice. Then the scope then gets left in a closet, maybe with faint memories that have old folks wondering what they missed decades later.

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