where can my kid get some time with a decent microscope in the SF bay?

November 13, 2015 2:23 AM

I want to find a science center, college biology department, museum or other facility that will allow a visitor to look through a decent microscope for a few minutes, at her own slides or theirs. Anywhere in the bay is potentially useful, the closer to the south bay the better.

Last Hanukah I got my girl a kid's microscope and a couple nice box of slides. She is very interested in science in general and how things fit together in particular, and I was excited to show her cells. Unfortunately, the kid's microscope was completely useless, we could not see anything at all.

Is there anywhere in the bay area that I could bring a 4th grader to get a few minutes looking through a decent scope? Anything from a museum visitor's center to a kindly biology grad student with a key to a lab would be super helpful.

posted by fingersandtoes to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (4 answers total)

Best answer: OK, I know you want to take her somewhere to see a real microscope in action in the SF Bay area, and that is good, and you should do it! But let me offer another, additional option: Fix the original problem and get her something great she can keep in her room.

So if this were my daughter, and I just wanted to encourage a generally positive attitude about science and education, I would probably get her another good microscope-like device that she could keep in her room and use whenever she wants. In my classroom we have had so much fun with cheap USB "microscopes". They are basically webcams with a frame and optimized for close focus. The one we use does from 1 to 80 power magnification, and even more if you want to use software or digital zoom. It is so great for looking at grass, or crystals, or bugs, or anything. I am continually surprised at what curious and engaged kids will stick under there, and how easy it is to turn it into a teaching moment. Particularly fun-- looking at money. Not only the fibrous structure of the paper, the interface between the plastic and the cloth fiber, the edges where the different dyes come together, but also (for US dollars) all of the tiny secret marks that the printers slipped in there to help law enforcement fight against counterfeiting, like the tiny engraved spider hiding in the "spiderweb" of decorative lines. I was able to spin almost a whole week's worth of lessons out of the dollar bill, and tie them in effortlessly with my learning objectives. I bought it almost five years ago, and paid around $80, but I see that Amazon has well-reviewed similar models for less than half that price now. Mark Frauenfelder over at Cool Tools uses this one extensively with his daughter in pretty much the same way you describe-- I noticed now it also easily goes up to 250-power. I trust the 'Frau enough that this is probably the one I would buy today. He has a lot of writing on it over at Boing Boing to help you decide if this is what you want. The great thing about USB microscopes is that you are also not tied into the form factor of traditional microscope-- by adjusting the frame, you can slip a piece of fabric or a leaf, or whole Lego block in there. One different option is to buy a really good traditional microscope. For $200, I love the 20-power Brock, which is expensive but is so ruggedly built and with so few moving parts that it almost certainly still be working 50 years from now.
posted by seasparrow at 7:30 AM on November 13, 2015 [2 favorites]

Best answer: One more: I have also heard good things about the portable Trekker microscope for field obervations. Full kit is around $65, I think. Would be something that can be tosed in a bag or large purse, and great for hiking or other excursions away from the house.
posted by seasparrow at 7:42 AM on November 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The Exploratorium has a hands-on microscope lab. That place is Science Disneyworld and you should take her there anyway.
posted by theodolite at 8:45 AM on November 13, 2015

Best answer: Check out the Omni Commons in the Temescal neighborhood of Oakland. It's a shared space with microscope and other lab supplies. A few weeks ago they had a free class on microscopy of fermentation organisms.
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posted by morchella at 2:49 PM on November 13, 2015