Microscopes: What is That?

An introduction to microscopes…. Set up a series of microscopes, each already focused on a common, household item. Students proceed around the room to look at each substance – the microscopes should already be focused and students do not need to touch anything other than looking through the eyepiece. They should sketch what they see in each microscope and hypothesize about what the substance is.

Some items you might want to use:
-Salt
-Sugar
-Flour
-Cornstarch
-Thread
-Hair
-Dust
-Newspaper

This is a good opportunity for students to learn how to look through the microscope and practice drawing what they see.