Because of technology, there are now certain types of microscopes that can be used by kids on their own. There are kid microscopes and they are very much available in the market today. But you should follow some safety measures before you letting your child play with them.
Kids love to play with their toys. And right now, there are a lot of kids that are given microscopes for their birthdays or as their Christmas present. These microscopes are very educational. It can teach kids a lot about their environment and all the other wonderful things around them. But these microscopes have to be used properly and safely. This is important so that kids would not encounter problems while using them.
The following are the seven safety precautions that you and your child should follow when using microscopes either in school or at home:
1. Tell your child to carry the microscope with one hand on its arm and another on its base.
This is the proper way of carrying microscopes. Microscopes are very fragile devices, especially the ones that are made of fine glass optics. If the microscope is carried using the eyepiece tube, the possibility of it slipping and crashing on the child’s feet is high. The microscope won’t only get damaged - your kid’s feet or legs may also hurt from the impact or from the shattered glass.
2. Ask your child to always use the microscope in a well-lit room.
Using a microscope that is equipped with a mirror to direct the light to the objectives uses daylight or an external light for illumination. If the room is not bright enough, kids will be straining their eyes, and blurring them in the process, while looking at the specimen. Tell your child to use the microscope outside during the day. Or at least turn on the light or its built-in light source if it has one while using it.
3. Teach your child the proper way of using microscopes.
Microscopes, especially the more complex ones, have to be used in full precision. This is because children might break the objective lenses while adjusting the mechanical stage. Tell your child that they can’t simply turn any knob without knowing first what it is for. Teach them all the adjustments that the microscope has. Then ask them to use the microscope accordingly and properly by turning the knob slowly every time they need to adjust anything.
4. Tell your child to use objectives of low power.
The 100x objective needs special preparation before it can be used. Most of these lenses are oil immersion lenses. This means mineral oil has to be applied to the lenses, the sample, or both, before this much magnification power is attained. Your kid may mistakenly use the high power objective and keep on adjusting the knobs on the microscope. Let your child understand that high power lenses are not meant for beginners.
5. Tell your child to always use the microscope on a leveled plane.
Whenever the microscope needs to be used, it has to be placed on a flat surface with no obstructions, whatsoever. These obstructions may cause the microscope to topple over. And the next thing you know is that you should send the microscope in for some costly repairs.
6. Teach your kid how to properly connect the microscope to a computer or to a camera.
Some kids are very curious. And these are the kids who are not afraid to try things. If you know that your kid is like this, better teach them the proper way of connecting devices to the microscope instead of finding it out on their own. That way, they would be able to use the camera or the computer without causing damage to any of the devices.
7. Use the microscope with you child whenever you can.
Much more than monitoring the safety of your child, you might want to teach him or her new things while observing samples under a microscope. Besides, you can take this activity as a way to bond with your child and do things together. Learning more things with a microscope is going to be a lot more fun when shared with others. Your child will surely love and look forward to the experience.
These are the seven things you should do before allowing your child to use a microscope on their own. While kid microscopes are fairly easy to use and durable, you might still want to monitor how they use it so that the device would last longer and be more useful to them in the long run.