There are many kid-friendly microscope options out there, particularly in the world of online shopping. You can even find microscopes for kids in all kinds of price ranges. The price will indicate general quality and functionality, which can vary widely depending on the quality of materials used in manufacturing, the number of lenses provided, and more. At the end of the day, though, what is the best microscope for kids?
Today at Optical Mechanics, we took a thorough look at the different options on the market for kids’ microscopes. We evaluated some of the most popular brands on Amazon for many factors. We searched for products that fit various budgets and selected the best options from each category.
While you may want to get your child the best scientific tool on the market, for what they will be using it for, you probably want to go with a more budget-friendly, practical option. We’ve provided a bit of both in our review of the best microscopes for kids.
Contents
1. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Microscope for Kids
Science and National Geographic are almost synonymous terms. This magazine is famous for many reasons, but a big one is that millions of people turn to it for information on the world and its inner workings.
This National Geographic microscope set comes with six pre-prepared slides, six blank slides, a selection of rocks and minerals, and instructions to prepare everything. Your child also gets access to a fun, multi-colored tool that will be hard to break. It’s made of a tough and durable plastic that your child will have difficulty busting through.
2. IQCREW by AmScope Kid’s Premium Portable LCD Color Digital Microscope
The next item on our list is a digital microscope that brings a bit more into the fold with a rock and mineral collecting kit and the means to take a closer look at what you find. A handy field guide breaks down different types of minerals as well.
This little portable microscope and collecting kit combo caught our eye. We think that it’s not only essential to provide scientific instruments to experiment with the scientific side of the world. Kids should also have the necessary information handy that informs them about what they’re looking at.
This kit also comes with up to 1200x magnification level, allowing kids to conduct a deep dive into whatever objects they want to examine. It’s one of the most powerful microscopes on our list and for quite a modest price.
3. 40X- 1000X Compound Microscope from Emarth
This compound microscope is a step up from the previous product but for good reason. The big thing it brings to the table is in terms of magnification. Not only are you getting all of the magnification levels from this option that the National Geographic product was bringing to the table, but you’re also getting up to 1000x magnification.
This little battery-powered portable microscope is quite affordable, considering how much magnification power and educational insight you will be giving your little scientist. This is one microscope we’ll be keeping our eyes on, as it really does quite a lot for its price tag.
Compound microscopes use light to project an image of the subject into the tool’s objective lens. What’s so great about this one in particular is that there are two lights, and both project a soft halogen glow that isn’t glaring or harsh when viewing a specimen through the eyepiece.
4. AmScope 40X-1000X Beginner’s Microscope Kit
We will take another step up in the world of microscopes by looking at this microscope set from AmScope. It doesn’t offer any more magnification power than the one from Emarth, but it does have a lot of accouterments, like prepared slides and blank microscope slides, that any aspiring young scientist would want to have at their fingertips.
One aspect of this simple microscope you must pay attention to is its solid metal frame, which is sturdily built. Having a solid base means no shaking when examining objects. It also means you don’t have to worry about your observing experience being messed with when taking a look through the lens.
The LED illumination that this microscope uses is soft and unassuming. It provides a lot of clarity when examining anything placed on this microscope’s stage. The microscope also comes with fine focusing knobs so your young scientist can take deeper looks and adjust their view of things to get a clear look at any specimen.
Not only will they feel like a scientist, but they’ll have a reliable tool at their fingertips. Give all that, the price tag on this microscope is very justifiable.
Choosing Your Ideal Microscope
We know that whatever microscope you pick will be your ultimate choice due to various factors. That’s why we tried to consider a lot when evaluating each microscope on this list. It can be difficult to choose such a complicated scientific instrument for yourself, and we get that. We hope that this guide on the best microscope for kids proved useful to you when making your decision.
