E X PE R I M E NT M A N UA L

WARNING — Science Education Set. This set contains

chemicals and/or parts that may be harmful if misused. Read
cautions on individual containers and in manual carefully. Not
to be used by children except under adult supervision.
 SAFETY INFORMATION

WARNING!
Dear Parents!
In this experiment kit,
WARNING! Parts in this kit have functional sharp points, corners, or edges. Do not
your child will discover
injure yourself! Be careful when handling the dissecting needle, when cutting the wonders of the
objects with the slicing tool (microtome) or other blades, and when working with microcosmos. Please stand
the fragile glass slides.
by your child’s side during
WARNING! Not suitable for children under three years. There is a risk of choking
due to small parts that can be swallowed or inhaled. the experiments and provide
Keep away from young children! help and support when it is
Before starting, check the parts list to be sure that all the right pieces are contained
needed. The help of an adult
in the box.
Keep the packaging and instructions, as they contain important information. is particularly necessary
when using the slicing tool
Rules for Safe Experimentation
or dissecting needle.
››› Prepare your materials and work area carefully before starting the experiments.
Give yourself sufficient space and gather all of the things that you will need. When setting up the
››› Conduct your experiments and make your observations with the microscope microscope, you should
slowly and deliberately, as described in the instructions. go through the steps for
››› Read these instructions before use, follow them and keep them for reference. proper usage together
››› Do not use any equipment which has not been supplied with the set or with your child. Please
recommended in the instructions for use. Do not use any power supply other also make sure that the
than as indicated.
batteries are properly
››› Do not eat or drink in the experimental area.
inserted in the device. With
››› When foodstuffs are required by any experiment:
Before starting an experiment, separate the amount of foodstuffs required for some practice, your child
the experiment from the rest of the foodstuffs. will soon be conducting fun
Do not replace foodstuffs in original container. Dispose of immediately.
and successful microscopy
››› Some of the recommended investigation objects might contain substances that
are slightly toxic (e.g. ivy, tulip). Therefore: experiments!
Do not allow chemicals to come into contact with the eyes or mouth.
Do not apply any substances or solutions to the body. We wish you and your child
Wash hands after carrying out experiments.
a lot of fun and fascinating
››› Keep young children and animals away from the experimental area.
experimentation!
››› Store this experimental set out of reach of children under 8 years of age.

Battery Safety
Two AA batteries (1.5-volt, type AA / LR6 / penlight) are required. They are not included in the kit due to their limited
storage life. Avoid short-circuiting the batteries. A short circuit can cause the wires to overheat and the batteries to
explode. Different types of batteries (e.g., rechargeable and standard batteries), or new and used batteries should not be
used together. Do not mix old and new batteries. Do not mix alkaline, standard (carbon-zinc), or rechargeable (nickel-
cadmium) batteries. Always insert batteries in the right polarity orientation, pressing them gently into the battery
compartment. Do not recharge non-rechargeable batteries. They could explode! Rechargeable batteries should only be
charged under adult supervision. Rechargeable batteries are to be removed from the toy before being charged. Remove
exhausted batteries from the kit. Dispose of used batteries in accordance with environmental provisions. Make
absolutely sure that metallic objects such as coins or key chains are not left in contact with battery terminals. Keep
batteries away from fire. Do not bend, warp, or otherwise deform batteries. After experimenting, disconnect all circuits

Advice About Protecting the Environment

None of the electrical or electronic components in this kit should be disposed of in the regular
household trash when you have finished using them; instead, they must be delivered to a collection
location for the recycling of electrical and electronic equipment. The symbol on the product,
instructions for use, or packaging indicates this. The materials are reusable in accordance with their
designation. By reusing or recycling used devices, you are making an important contribution to the
protection of the environment. Please consult your local authorities for the appropriate disposal
location.
 you
EXPERIMENT 1 An experiment to help
hit the ground running
Water drop as
“magnifying glass”
YOU WILL NEED
› 2 slides, pipette
› 1 glass of tap water, 1 newspaper

HERE’S HOW
1. Use the pipette to place a drop of water on
the slide (see illustration) and carefully set
the slide on the newspaper. Now look through
the drop at the newspaper page.

2. Next, place another drop of water on the

second slide and hold this second slide above
the first one in such a way that you can look
through both water drops to the newspaper
beneath them. Can you find the optimal
distance between the two slides that will
make the writing appear even more enlarged
than when you use just one?

EXPLANATION
TIP!
You see the letters of the newspaper
enlarged as if by a magnifying lens. Your
microscope works by the same principle
as this “two-drop microscope.” Instead
of the water drop lens, your microscope
has plastic lenses installed in its optical
tube, and the viewed object lies on a
slide clamped in place beneath them.
This is how
pette!
to use the pi

1
 TIP !
mirror
› › › KIT CONTENTS You can use a lamp or a
cope.
to illuminate the micros
luded.
A replacement bulb is inc

What's in your experiment kit:

4
6

3
5
10
1
8 9
2

Checklist: Find – Inspect – Check off You will also need:

No. Description Qty. Item No. Two 1.5-volt batteries (AA/
LR6/penlight), water glass,
1 Microscope 1 708223
plate, teaspoon, blotting paper
2 Tweezers 1 700595
(or paper towels), white paper
3 Dissecting needle 1 000208
(letter size), newspaper, razor
4 Slicing tool (microtome) 1 000211
blade, fabric tape, permanent
5 Pipette 1 000210
marker, cotton swabs,
6 Sample container 1 000214
polystyrene foam pieces, string,
7 Slides 4 062018
small plastic bags, pocket
8 Box of cover slips 1 062206
knife, plastic bag with gravel or
9 Natural fiber specimens
sand, wine cork, desk lamp.
(silk, cotton, wool) 1 708224
10 Replacement bulb 1 000218 Also, for viewing under the
microscope: Onion, elodea
If you are missing any parts, please contact Thames &
waterweed, pine needle, raw
Kosmos customer service for a replacement.
meat, hair and fabric samples,
Any materials not included in the kit are indicated in italic dust sample, honey (more
script under the “You will need” heading. precise descriptions accompany
each experiment).

2
 Kids First Biology Lab
TIP !
You will find additional
It Out”
› › › CONTENTS information here: “Check
13, 29, 32
Page 4, 8, 9, 12,

General Information......................................... Inside front cover

A Word to Parents.............................................. Inside front cover

An experiment to help you hit the ground running.................. 1

What’s in your experiment kit....................................................... 2

Microscopy Basics.............................................................. 5
How your new microscope works. Get started
right away with the prepared slide!

Plant Bells............................................................. 10
Onion skin cells and waterweed
chloroplasts in focus.

Cells in Cross Section............................................... 15

Pine needles in the slicing tool and as specimens under the
microscope.

Animal Cells and “Guinea Pigs”................................................ 18

A size comparison between two really different animal
muscle cells types.

Detectives on the Trail ................................................................ 22

Fibers and hair samples reveal the perpetrator. Uncover the
house dust mite in the vacuum cleaner bag!

Gateway to the Microcosm ........................................................ 26

Build your own algae collecting device and examine flower
pollen in honey!

Publisher’s Information................................... Inside back cover

3
 CHECK IT OUT

Your Microscope’s
Lenses
In your microscope, the role of the water
drops from first experiment is assumed by
convex plastic disks known as optical
lenses, located in the eyepiece and lower
down in the nosepiece. Lenses magnify the Eye
objects that you place on the stage for Eyepiece lens
examination, so they are the most
Actual intermed
important components in your microscope. image plane iate
Handle them with care. If dust has collected
on one of the lenses, wipe it off carefully Intermediate lens
with a soft, dry cloth.

es with your
CAU TIO N! Never touch the lens lens in the Objective lens
the
ers, and be careful not to let
fing
p against other objects. Slide
eyepiece or nosepiece bum
or scra tche d lens es will not produce a shar p
Dirt ied Stage
image! Diaphragm
Apparent
image plane

Light source

TIP!
cleaning
Do not use a
cleaning
solution for
ope, since it
your microsc
e some of
might damag
nt part s.
the compone
onto the
Ideally, hold
by the stand
microscope
only.
or the base

4
 Microscopy
Basics
In this chapter, you will be getting to know the microscope and all of
its accessories. The most important parts of the microscope will be
explained, and the experiments will help you learn practical tips for
using the microscope and exploring the world of cells.

5
 EXPERIMENT 2

The first specimen: 1

“natural fibers”
YOU WILL NEED
› Natural fiber prepared slide
› 2 1.5-volt batteries (AA/LR6/Penlight)
Pay attention to the correct orientation of + and – !

HERE’S HOW
ation (500 x – 750 x),
1. Before viewing your first specimen, you will NO TE! At the strongest magnific to be careful not
you have
first have to insert the batteries for the lamp. the objective is so long that
to let it hit the slide!
You will find the battery compartment on the
underside of the base.
1: base, 2: battery
2. Turn the microscope’s illumination unit so
that the mirror is pointing downward. The
compartment cover, 3: 8
arm, 4: illumination unit
light will switch on automatically. The bulb’s
(mirror and lamp), 5:
light will shine through an opening in the
stage with clamps and
stage, with the diaphragm letting more or
less light through depending on its size.
adjustment wheel, 6: 7
nosepiece with three
Always start by selecting the largest
objective lenses, 7: fine
diaphragm setting.
adjustment, 8: eyepiece
3. Take the prepared slide and clamp it under with turning function
the clips on the stage. The specimen should be
positioned as precisely as possible over the
center of the stage opening so it is well 3
illuminated by the bulb.
6
5

2 2
6
 Microscopy Basics

TIP!
Use t
he ad
on t h ju s t m
e un d e nt w
e r s ide he e l
s tag e of t he
to s e l
gre e s e c t di
o f il lu f f e re n
dif f e r min a t de -
e nt c o t ion a
w hi c h lo r f il nd
w il l h te r s ,
s h ar p el
e s t im p y o u g e t
je c t y ag e o t he
o u ar ft
p e r im e lo o k h e o b -
e nt a ing a
l ittle t . E x-
3 !

4. R
 otate the nosepiece so that the objective
lens with the lowest magnification (96x –
EXPLANATION
144x) is above the slide. Use the fine
adjustment knob to lower the objective lens When you look through the eyepiece, you
all the way down and then gradually up will first just see a blurry image, or
again until the image is sharp. maybe nothing at all.

5. Keep rotating the nosepiece to the next two If you just see a blurry image, it is
magnification levels, using the fine because the two lenses (in the eyepiece
adjustment knob to sharpen the image each and the nosepiece) are not yet at the
time. optimum distance from each other. To
get a clear enlarged image, the
6. E
 verything OK so far? Now for the final trick:
distance between the lenses (just as
Turn the silver sleeve around the eyepiece to
with the “two-drop microscope” in
enlarge the microscope image even more!
the first experiment) will have to be
adjusted. To do this, slowly (!) turn
the fine adjustment knob while
looking through the eyepiece, and
you will get a clear image.
TIP!
Always start with the If you don’t see anything at all, it’s
lowest magnification in probably because the specimen is
TIP! order to get an overview not positioned precisely beneath
ing the of the object on the slide.
Before turn the objective lens. Carefully move
upside-
microscope the slide on the stage in order to
st to remove
down, it’s be bring the specimen into the
and set it
the eyepiece correct position.
it doesn’t
aside so that
fall out and
accidentally
.
get damaged

7
 CHECK IT OUT

Introducing the
Microscope Accessories
The prepared slide will be used right at the
beginning and again later on in the
detective chapter. Prepared slides are
handy because they are ready-to-use and
they can be quickly pulled out whenever
you want to compare different kinds of
samples.

The pipette is used whenever you want to

drip small amounts of water onto a slide.

On the slide, you will be placing all the

specimens that you want to study under the
microscope. When you do this, you will
cover the specimen with a cover slip in order
to get the best image and protect the
specimens from getting dirty.

Use the sharp dissecting needle (be careful!)

when you want to place or move a specimen
on the slide. The tweezers and sample
container will come in handy when you’re
searching for new specimens.

The objects that you view under the

microscope will have to be very thin in order
for enough light to be able to shine through
them. Some specimens will have to first be
cut into very thin slices so you can study
them under the microscope in cross section.
You can use the slicing tool for this, or a
razor with fabric tape over the part you
hold.

8
 Microscopy Basics

NATU RAL FIBER S

the
The prepared slide contains
ura l fibe rs cot ton , woo l,
three nat
The y are all arti ficia lly
and silk.
see the
colored. You will be able to
characteri stic qua litie s of the
roscope .
various fibers under the mic
and
Cotton fibers are flattened
sted . The y hav e thic k edges
often twi
Cotton hair)
(cell walls). The wool (sheep’s
and with
is thick and round, hollow,
trast, is
scaly cell walls. Silk, by con
interior,
a lot thinner with no hollow
face that
with a smooth and even sur
artificial
makes it look similar to an
on).
fiber (such as polyester or nyl

Silk

TIP!
You can use the mirro
r
for illumination instea
d
of the light bulb. With
the proper adjustment
,
you can use it to guide
the light from your des
k
lamp or the sun throu
gh
the hole in the
Wool
microscope stage .

9
 Plant Cells
What do all living things have in common? They breathe, they
feed themselves, they grow, they reproduce, and they consist of
tiny building blocks called cells. Most plant or animal cells are
incredibly small. To study them, you need a microscope. That’s
the only way that you can see and study all their tiny structures.

10
 Plant Cells

EXPERIMENT 3

Onion skin cells TIP! er to see if yo

u dye
ec im ens are easi op of
under the microscope So m
em
e
.
sp
It ’s ea sy to do — tr
y it with a
ed
dr
un der
th ink get pull
d or bl ue ink. Let the ti p on page
re bed in the
e co ve r sl ip (as descri ad d cl ean
YOU WILL NEED th
t a fe w minutes,
and then
ve r
13 ), w ai under th e co
› 1 Slide, 1 cover slip, pipette, tweezers at er an d le t it get pulled ed
w the prep ar
u can study
› Blotting paper (or paper towel), water, razor slip. Then yo
blade, fabric tape, half an onion specimen.

HERE’S HOW
1. Get all the materials ready and prepare the
slide: Suction up a little water with the
pipette and place a drop on the center of the
slide.

shar p, so the first

CAU TIO N! Razor blades are very of the two edge s
to cove r one
thing you have to do is
. That will make the
of the blade with fabr ic tape
e a lot safe r to han dle. Have an adult help you
blad
cut and apply the tape .

2 3

EXPLANATION
You will see the elongated onion skin
2. Now use the razor blade to cut a small square
cells, each one with a round cell
section out of the skin of the onion. Remove
nucleus. In red onions, the walls and
the square with the tweezers and place it in
contents of the cell are colored reddish-
the water droplet you placed on the slide.
purple by a natural pigment. With
3. Carefully position a cover slip over the water white or yellow onions, the
droplet. If there is too much water under the translucent cell walls and contents
cover slip, just blot up the extra water with appear colorless to slightly yellow
blotting paper or a paper towel. under the microscope.

11
 CHECK IT OUT

Onion Skin and

Chloroplasts
An onion is composed of many layers, with
each individual layer covered by a very thin
skin. This skin has a silvery sheen and
consists of just a single layer of cells. You
can easily view this “prototypical” plant
cell under the microscope — a typical cell
with a large round cell nucleus. The living
portion of the elongated cells is surrounded
by a protective cell wall. The cytoplasm
(the substance filling the cells) of a white
onion is colorless. If you take a red onion,
you can see the deep purple cytoplasm
inside the cells.

DID YOU KNOW ?

th of a
A bacterial cell is just one thousand
abou t 70
millimeter in size. That means that
will about
be
bacterial cells placed side by side
eme, the egg
as thick as a hair! At the other extr
t, measuring
cell of an ostrich is a veritable gian
are the
15 cm in length. Giant cells like that
exception however.

12
 Plant Cells

TIP!
e e d ce ll s
Waterw Bubbles of ai
r in the
microscope sl
ide can
interfere wit
h your viewin
Almost all sp g.
ecimens
should lie in
water in orde
to yield a real r
ly good
image. You ca
n easily get
rid of air bubb
les by placin
a drop of wat g
er along one
Draparna edge of the co
ldia alga ver slip with
e the pipette, an
d then
holding a piec
e of blotting
paper or pape
r towel along
the opposite
edge . That w
pull the drop ill
of water unde
the cover slip r
and the
bubbles will
disappear.
Repeat if nece
ssary…

The green color of plant cells comes

from tiny leaf-green structures that
biologists call chloroplasts. You can
very easily study the way these green
granules look and move in the elodea
“waterweed,” a common aquarium
plant. Its leaves consist of just two
layers of cells, so they can be viewed
directly under the microscope without
any preparation. If you happen to know
someone who owns an aquarium, just
ask for a little branch of waterweed. Or
you can ask for one in an aquarium or
pet supply store. Either elodea or egeria,
another closely related waterweed
species, would work.

13
 EXPERIMENT 4

Waterweed
chloroplasts
YOU WILL NEED
› 1 Slide, 1 cover slip, pipette, tweezers
› 1 Piece of blotting paper (or paper towel), 1
waterweed leaf, water

HERE’S HOW
1. Prepare the slide as already described in the
onion skin experiment (Experiment 3).

2. Use the tweezers to place the leaf in the

water droplet, and cover everything with a
cover slip.
1

TIP! EXPLANATION
Most leaves
consist of se The individual chloroplasts are easy to
cell s. That is veral layers
why you firs of spot inside the cells. They are constantly
these specim t have to cu
ens in order t in motion under the bright light of the
thin enough to get layer
for the light lamp. The green chlorophyll plant
microscope of the
to penetrate. pigment is important for
practicing yo Before
ur cutting te manufacturing sugar and starch,
ne xt chapte chnique in th
r, try finding e which it does with the help of sunlight.
plants with ot her types of
similarly sim
structures. ple tissue
Moss leaves
this. Or try “p ar e ideal for
eeling off” th
from the su in layers
rface of othe
such as cabb r pl ant leaves,
age or lettuc
to the stalk) e leaves (clo
, or from the se
flowers (e .g stems of cu
., tulips, gerb t
the skin of a er daisies), or
tomato.

14
Cells in Cross Section
Every organ in our body has its own particular task: The heart pumps
blood through the veins, the stomach absorbs food and starts the
process of digestion, the bones support the body and the brain
controls it all. With plants, by contrast, you will find many different
structures depending on where the plant grows.

The corresponding tasks in plant bodies are handled by specialized

cell tissues. In leaves, stalks, and roots, you will discover a lively
division of labor. It is especially easy to see the various cell tissue
types in a cross section of a pine needle (or other conifer needle).

15
 EXPERIMENT 5
TIP! d a sharp
lways nee
You will a
Pine needles, razor blad
e to cut yo
d
ur
e that
T he b la
sliced thin specimens.
comes wit
h the kit w
ill
ti m e . Be
ll over
become du h a ve an
sure to
YOU WILL NEED absolutely e the
you chang
adult help ices is an
› 1 Slide, 1 cover slip, pipette, slicing tool, king thin sl
blade . Ma requires
tweezers, dissecting needle self and it
art unto it always
› Water, pine needle ractice . It’s
time and p al slices
pare sever
best to pre eases
e . That incr
HERE’S HOW at one tim ng a slice
ces of getti
your chan ness.
1. Prepare a slide and take the slicing tool out of right thick
of just the
the box. You will see a silver razor blade
inside the slicing tool.

CAU TIO N!
rp — so you will
The razor blade is very sha
dissecting needle
have to stay sharp too! The
g both tools!
is also sharp. Be careful usin

Pine needle
3 (cross section)
16
 Cells in Cross Section

DID YOU KNOW ? ?

You can tell right off the bat if a slice
2. Set the slicing tool on its base and turn the r
is too thick by the fact that the cove
handle until you can no longer see the silver slide . You
slip will not lie flat on the
blade through the oblong openings. Insert the
can only tell by looking through the
pine needle through one of the slicing tool
microscope if a slice really is thin
openings.
enough.
3. Now, slowly turn the handle until the pine
needle has been completely cut through.

4. T
 urn the blade back again and make another
slice. Repeat these steps at least ten times,
slicing off very thin slices each time (sort of
Corn stalk
like cutting thin salami slices).
(cross
5. Carefully take the thinnest slices with the section)
tweezers or the dissecting needle from the
rear side of the slicing tool and place them in
the water droplet on the slide.

Ivy shoot
(cross
section)
EXPLANATION
You can see a variety of tissue types in
the slices even without using a dye.
The supportive wall tissue provides a
stable structure for leaves and stalks.
Inside the walls, there are tube-like
passageways for water and
nutrients, typically also surrounded
by supportive tissue. At the very
edge, you can easily see the outer
cuticle covering composed of lots
of small cells.

17
 Animal Cells and
“Guinea Pigs”
Right at the beginning of the manual, we said that all living things
are composed of cells, and that there are smaller cells and larger
ones. The question remains whether large living things have bigger
cells than little ones. Or is it just that their bodies are composed of
more cells? If you can find an adult willing to serve as a “guinea pig,”
you will be able to answer these questions easily enough. Let’s
assume you are about 4 feet (1.3 meters) tall and your adult “guinea
pig” is 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall. In that case, the guinea pig’s cells
would have to be at least about one and a half times the size of
yours — assuming a larger body means larger cells!

18
 Animal Cells and “Guinea Pigs”

EXPERIMENT 6

Human cell size

comparison
YOU WILL NEED
› 2 Slides, 2 cover slips, pipette
› Water, 2 clean cotton swabs, 1 permanent
marker (for marking the slides)

HERE’S HOW
1. Use the pipette to place a drop of water on
the center of the first slide.

2. Now, applying a little bit of pressure, wipe

the inside of your cheek with a cotton swab.

3. Dip the swab in the water drop on the slide.

4. P
 repare a second slide and ask your “guinea
pig” to provide a tissue sample using the
second cotton swab.

5. Cover both samples with cover slips and

compare the cell sizes of the two specimens
under the microscope.

EXPLANATION
When you rub the inside of your cheek
with the cotton swab, it releases cells
from the mucous membrane. These cells
are then transferred to the slide, where
you can observe them under the
microscope. And what did you find?
Are the “guinea pig’s” cells larger than
your own cheek cells, or is there no
difference?

19
 EXPERIMENT 7
muscle fibers

Different cell jobs,

different cell shapes
YOU WILL NEED
› 2 Slides, 2 cover slips, dissecting needle,
tweezers, pipette
› Water, 1 small piece of raw meat with fat!

HERE’S HOW
1. Prepare two slides by placing a drop of water Red blood cells
in the center of each one with the pipette.

2. Have an adult help you cut off a lentil-sized

piece of meat and an equal-sized piece of fat.

3. Carefully maneuver these two samples into

the water droplets on the slides with the help
of the dissecting needle and the tweezers.
Remove any thick, non-transparent pieces
from the slide.

4. C
 over both specimens with a cover slip and
observe them in turn under the microscope.

20
 Animal Cells and “Guinea Pigs”

Fat cells in the

skin
DID YOU KNOW ?
All plant and animal cells have a
cell nucleus that contains the
genetic information (DNA). Unlike
animal cells, however, plant cells
have a solid cell wall for support.
In simple terms, you might say that
animal cells don’t need this kind of
support because that job is handled
by the skeleton or shell. Animal
cells come in various shapes and
colors, depending on the job they
perform in the body.

EXPLANATION
The colorless fat cells are large round or
oval shapes packed together in groups.
They are almost completely filled with
a droplet of oil — making them pure
energy stores. It’s a completely
different story with the muscle cells
from the meat. They are striped,
elongated structures that are hardly
DNA sample
recognizable as cells. When you raise
your arm, each one of these
individual muscle cells will shorten,
an action that draws on the energy
stored in the droplets of oil inside
the fat cells!

There are dozens of different types

of cell in our bodies, such as skin,
bone, blood, and nerve cells. Each
one of these cell types has its own
special work to do, and each
looks different from the others!

21
 Detectives on
the Trail
The refrigerator door is ajar… all the gummy bears have been stolen
off the birthday cake… the lemonade has been drunk up and
somebody has taken bites out of the hot dogs… a hyena must have
broken into the kitchen last night!

Who was the hungry culprit? The first thing to do is to collect any
possible pieces of evidence, such as hair or clothing fibers, from
around the scene of the crime and save them in a special sample
container. Then you will need samples from all the suspects for
comparison: Collect a hair or a thread from the pajamas of each of
the suspected perpetrators and pack each one into a separate bag
labeled with his or her name.

22
 Detectives on the Trail

EXPERIMENT 8

Refrigerator
detectives: Who was
the perpetrator?

Horse hair
YOU WILL NEED

Rabbit hair
Cat hair

Dog hair
› Slides, cover slips, pipette, sample container,
tweezers, “natural fibers” prepared slide
› Water, various hair and fiber samples (from
around the house), small plastic bags (reseal-
EXPLANATION
able), 1 permanent marker (for identifying the
bags and slides) Each fiber reveals its own unique details
under the microscope. Hairs from fabric
fibers are easy to tell apart. With a little
HERE‘S HOW
practice, you will be able to see the
1. Prepare several slides by placing a drop of difference between cotton fibers and
water onto the center of each one with the silk, or between the hairs of various
pipette. living things. The prepared slide will
give you some idea how your crime
2. Set the hairs or fibers in the water droplets,
scene samples will look under the
place a cover slip on top of each, and study
microscope.
the samples using the smallest objective lens.
Then try the lens with medium magnification,
followed by the one with the greatest
magnification, which will let you see the fiber
structures most clearly.

Human hairs

23
 EXPERIMENT 9

On a “carpet safari” in
your house dust
YOU WILL NEED
› 1 Slide, 1 cover slip, pipette, tweezers
› Water, 1 sheet of white letter-size paper,
“sample” from the vacuum cleaner bag,
desk lamp, kitchen sieve

HERE’S HOW
1. Place a dust sample in a fine-meshed kitchen
sieve and shake the sieve gently over the
sheet of paper. Little dust particles and a few
mites will fall onto the sheet when you do
that.

2. House mites don’t like air that is too warm or

dry. As soon as you warm the sheet with the
desk lamp, they will escape from the dust
and gather themselves into little heaps.

3. Use the tweezers to transfer the escapees to a

drop of water on the slide, and then cover
them with a cover slip and study them under DID YOU KNOW ?
the microscope.
Whether you look in the carpet, on
mite upholstered chairs or sofas, or in the
House dust bed, you will find them everywhere
that dust accumulates — tiny
creatures known as dust mites. They
are essentially harmless little
es
animals that feed primarily on flak
of dead skin. They real ly only
become a problem for those of us
.
who suffer from dust mite allergies
If you are aller gic, dust mite
excrement can trigger a sneezing
.
attack or even breathing problems

24
 Detectives on the Trail

DID YOU
K N OW ?
There are
research
that the e rs who cla
numb e r im
living on of micro
and insid organism
e o ur b o s
greater th dy is
an the n
body’s c umb e r o
ell s. But f all our
these liv d o n’t worr
ing thing y! M o s t o
us, and in s are not f
a ny c a s e h a rmful to
a lot of d o u r b o dy p o
efense m sse sse s
any micro echanism
organism s agains
s that m t
diseases ight cau
. se

EXPLANATION
The number of legs that a dust mite has
— you can see eight of them under the
microscope — is an indication of the
close relationship between mites and
spiders. Along with scorpions, spiders,
and ticks, mites belong to a family
known as arachnids. True insects, by
contrast, have just six legs.

25
 Gateway to the
Microcosm
Set off on a search for more of the tiny fellow inhabitants of our
planet! Use your pipette to take water samples. Your sample
container will be just the thing to carry them! The preferred hunting
grounds for microorganisms are algae-filled pools, the edges of
ponds, rain barrels, puddles, and plant pot saucers. It’s also worth
using the dissecting needle to scrape off some rocks that have been
lying around in water for a while and collect the scrapings with a
little water in the sample container.

Water flea (Daphnia)

26
 Gateway to the Microcosm

EXPERIMENT 10

“Fishing in the dark” 5. After about a week or two, bring your pond
specimen collection station home in a bucket
with your biological of pond water. Before you look at your “prey”
under the microscope, wipe one side of each
collecting station slide clean with a cloth.

6. T
 he other side of the slide should not be
YOU WILL NEED soaking wet when you view it under the
microscope. Let it dry a little before viewing.
› 4 slides, cover slips
Put one or more cover slips on the slide,
› 2 corks (from wine bottles), pocket knife, string,
position it on the microscope stage, and begin
1 plastic bag filled with rocks or sand, 1 piece
your observations.
of polystyrene foam, 1 permanent marker for
marking your slides

HERE’S HOW
1. Have an adult help you bore a hole through
the length of each cork and thread the string
through the holes. Secure the string with a
knot at the top and a knot below.

2. In the top cork, make two horizontal slits for

the slides and make two vertical slits in the
bottom cork, and clamp the slides in the
corks.

3. Tie a piece of polystyrene foam to the top end

of the string to serve as a float, and tie the
sand-filled bag to the bottom end to serve as
an anchor or sinker.

4. M
 ark the slides with a symbol or H1/H2
(horizontal) and V1/V2 (vertical), and take
the collecting station to a pond.

Note: When constructing the

collecting station, particularly when
boring the holes for the string and
making the slits for the slides, it is
absolutely essential to have an adult
help you.
27
 EXPERIMENT 10

Diatoms

EXPLANATION
In pond water, you can find a multitude
of living organisms — both plants and
animals. In the summer, lots of
organisms will have settled on the
slides within one to two weeks. A lot of
tiny water organisms will not swim
Volvox algae around freely in the water. They are
sedentary, meaning that they grow on
a fixed surface. Every animal or plant
species has its own preferences in this
regard. Some look for sunny,
horizontal spots, while others prefer
to settle on vertical surfaces.

On the surface of the water, you

will often find flower pollen, such
as pine pollen, which is spread by
the wind. In the water itself there
are all sorts of algae, single-
celled organisms, and a lot of
other aquatic organisms that can
simply be collected with the
Paramecium
pipette and transferred to a slide
for viewing.

28
 Gateway to the Microcosm

CHECK IT OUT

The World of Microbes

in Our Water Systems
The creatures living in puddles and ponds
live in all kinds of ways and in all kinds
of places. Algae usually float freely in
the water in order to get as close as
possible to the light. Water fleas paddle
themselves around and use their legs to
filter out algae and microorganisms.
Some animals can be seen with the naked
eye, while others are only visible under
the microscope.

A fearsome pond predator you might find

is a freshwater polyp called a hydra. It
has tentacles that it uses to fish for food,
and it also possesses tiny, poison-tipped
TIP! samples
harpoons with which it shoots its prey
st st u d y the water
F ir . A lot of
upon contact, wounding or killing it. naked eye
While some polyps are visible with the with your w ater fleas
im en s, such as
sp ec n easily be
naked eye — some are up to 2.5 cm long
d so m e diatoms, ca
a n ication. If
— their prey can only be seen under the
w it h o ut magnif y,
se en very cloud
microscope.
o u r w a te r sample is sa n d
y e . Fin e
t for a whil
just let it si ttle to th e
icles will se
or silt part p le vessel . Th
en
the sam
bottom of e the fr ee ly
e able to se
you will b re s quite easily
,
creatu
swimming em u p w it h
n suction th
and you ca them o n
and place
the pipette rv a tion.
for obse
your slide

“Hydra” freshwater polyp

29
 EXPERIMENT 11

Hunting for pollen in a

honey sample
YOU WILL NEED
› 2 slides, 2 cover slips, pipette
› 1 water glass, 1 teaspoon, 1 flat saucer,
natural honey (ordinary quality from the
supermarket), 1 permanent marker (for
marking the slides), 1 piece of blotting paper
(or paper towel), water

HERE’S HOW Honeycomb

1. Get everything ready — slides, cover slips,

and all the other items. Label the slides with
the type of honey (wildflower, etc.) or the
brand name.

2. Dissolve about half a teaspoon of honey in

some water in a water glass. Then set the
spoon on the saucer.

3. Now use the pipette to suction up a little of

the solution (one sample from the bottom of
the glass, and one from higher up) and drip
the two samples onto the two slides.

4. P
 lace a cover slip on each slide, carefully blot ollen
Pine p
up any extra liquid, and study the samples
under different levels of magnification using
the microscope’s different color filters.

5. After completing your observations, pour the

remaining honey-water mixture down the
kitchen sink drain and rinse it down with
water. Clean the pipette, slides, cover slips,
water glass, and spoon right away with some
dishwashing liquid, and place everything on
a kitchen towel to dry.

30
 Gateway to the Microcosm

1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9
6
14
12 17

15 16 18
10 11 13

Different kinds of pollen can have really

different shapes: 1 acacia, 2 cuckooflower,
2 maple tree, 4 oak tree, 5 dead nettle, 6 beech
tree, 7 chrysanthemum, 8 fir tree, 9 grass,
10 spruce, 11 dandelion, 12 hazel, 13 sunflower,
14 cow parsley, 15 pine tree, 16 buttercup,
17 heather, 18 apple tree.

R oy al m a
llow pollen

EXPLANATION
Sunf lower
pollen One type of honey is often mixed
together with other types, resulting in a
mixture of different kinds of pollen from
the various field, forest, and meadow
plants that the bees feed on. Pure types
of honey are more expensive to
produce and therefore cost more. In
your honey sample, you will see
various pollen shapes and structures,
and you might even be able to check
whether the honey really does come
from the source stated on the label.
A lot of pollen grains have a
characteristic appearance, making
Marigo them easy to identify under the
ld poll
en microscope.

31
 CHECK IT OUT

Pollen Grains:
The Calling Cards of
Flowers
As they fly around from flower to flower,
honeybees collect the precious nectar from
which they eventually make honey. At the
same time, they also collect flower pollen
to feed the bee larvae in the hive. Have you
ever watched a bee that just visited a
flower? As it emerges from the flower, it
will often appear covered with yellow
powder from head to foot. You shouldn’t be
surprised, then, if a few of those pollen
grains end up in the honey.

Pollen grains are interesting objects to

study under a microscope. You will be able
to discover lots of different shapes and
surface structures among them. The round,
prickly pollen of a sunflower, for example,
looks completely different from the air-
bladder-equipped pollen grains of a pine
tree or spruce. There are scientists who
specialize in pollen, using a microscope to
study the pollen composition of all sorts of
samples — among other things, to
determine the country from which a honey
sample came.

32
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