Microscopy for fun

[TBRS1]

Too cold for outdoor fun, so I'm taking the fun inside.

Microscopy, the art of looking at things under a microscope, does that.

I bought a used microscope ($35) and this little gizmo that attaches my phone to the microscope (about $30. It comes with a Bluetooth camera shutter release):



You have to fiddle with it a bit, but it works better than a purpose made camera (it also works with binoculars and telescopes).

Here's a butterfly antenna:

I have prepared slides to look at, and a variety of color filters and light blocks that fit into a tray under the microscope stage:

They allow me to do stuff like this (slide of human skin with hair follicle):



This is how it looks without any filters:



Of course, much of the fun in using a microscope is hunting for microbes. It's a lot like bird watching - you want to see a lot of different critters, although everybody has their favorite, like tardigrades, or hydra, or diatoms. Personally, I like algae.

 

[Angular Chap]

This takes me back, I had a microscope as a kid, a gift from a neighbour who’s daughter didn’t want it. It was a full kit with pre-prepared slides, kit and instructions on how to prepare your own, immersion oil, methylene blue and a variety of specimens, including a silkworm.

I remember looking at salt, sugar, other crystals, hairs, plant cells, and insects from the garden. I also remember following the instructions to prepare a slide to view skin cells from the inside of my mouth.

I ended up as more of a computer science guy rather than getting into biology, but I still had a huge amount of interesting fun nonetheless.

 

[FayetheAspie]

I LOVE using a microscope and doing photography as well. So far though I don't have the equipment for combining the two.