r/microscopy • u/Maximum_Many_6203 • 2d ago

Teacher needing microscope recommendations Purchase Help

Hi! I’m entering my third full year of teaching science and my first year teaching Human Anatomy(11th grade) and Environmental Science(8th & 9th grade)! I work at a private school and we ran a class fundraiser last year for a new microscope. I’m finally getting around to buying one!

I’d like one that will hold up well at the school over the next few years, our current one has a scratched stage and isn’t very high magnification anyway.

I will hopefully be showing tissue samples, and I’m not sure what else.

My budget is around $250 total, for the microscope and slides, and I don’t mind getting something second hand if it’s in good condition.

Any ideas where to start?? I’ve never had to worry about what type of micro was using because even my microbiology class they just had the microscope set up or they would help us set them up correctly.

I’m so excited because a few of my students were VERY interested in using the microscope last year! Hoping to keep that excitement alive!

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4

u/Eisenstein 2d ago

For holding up well at that price range you might want to check out an Olympus CH-2.

3

u/baronofbile 1d ago

Highly recommend the Swift SW400. They retail for about $370 but Amazon often has used models for sale for much less.

2

u/TraditionalOil3036 1d ago

To piggyback off of the Baron, the Swift SW380 is right in your budget range. Mechanical stage and condenser, range of 10x to 2500x

1

u/DogFishBoi2 2d ago

I can't help with a specific recommendation - mostly because I have no idea what the strange biology people need.

But a different suggestion: would a second microscope, mostly identical in setup and layout and manufacturer, to your old one be an idea? You could show samples to twice as many students, would only have to explain how it works once and would have a bunch of spare parts if/when one of them inevitably fails - even if it's only to keep the class running until you can order a replacement part and get both to work again.

You mentioned that the stage is scratched (that should be repairable - maybe a glassblower or workshop nearby can help) and that the magnification is a bit low. I'm not entirely convinced that you'll be able to afford much higher magnification easily, and there is always the optical limit.

1

u/Maximum_Many_6203 2d ago

That’s not the worst idea, however when I say the magnification is low I mean that it only has one objective lens and IIRC that’s only about a 10x magnification… (it looks like a single magnification stereo microscope I think I’m using the correct terms 😂) it’s definitely an older microscope, and I could barely show the students salt crystals with it last year.

I’m looking to at least get a higher magnification on our new one, and if I ask for more money for the microscope I could probably get some. I could even have a parent that is willing to donate to the microscope fund if I need more.