a handful of dry grass and a pinch or two of dirt
into the jar. Put the cap on the jar and keep it in
a place where it will receive light (but not direct
sunlight).
In about five days, you may examine the water.
First make a special slide: Using the needle or
stirring rod, make a ring of petroleum jelly on a
clean slide. The ring should be smaller than a
cover slip and be about half as thick as a slide.
Put a drop of water from the jar onto the slide
inside the ring. Use the lowest power of your mi-
croscope and write down your observations.
Did you detect any movement in the water? The
movement is caused by microscopic animals.
Try to focus on one of the animals – this may not
be very easy as a drop of water is like an ocean to
a microscopic creature. If the animals seem to be
moving too fast to study or don’t stay in focus for
very long, soak up a little bit of water with a corner
of a paper towel.
Remember, you can make a specimen slide out
of almost any material. When you are on a play
-
ground, at school, in a park, or just sitting around
at home, train yourself to look at all the material
around you. Keep an eye out for what might make
a good specimen and discover the hidden micro-
scopic world that surrounds us all.
Note: Your set contains both glass slips and stati
-
cal (thin plastic) slips. Statical slips are thin plastic
sheets that will stick to your slide using static elec-
tricity. They are ideal for temporary slides. Use a
glass slip if you wish to make a permanent slide.
Remember to Turn Off the Light Source
When you are finished observing, be sure to turn
the light source around, if necessary, so that it
turns off and doesn’t wear down the batteries.
Remove the batteries before storing the micro-
scope for a month or longer.
Make a Record of Your Experiments
Begin to start thinking like a scientist as you per
-
form your experiments. Observe carefully and
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