I received product/compensation in exchange for sharing my honest opinion.

For holidays and birthdays, there are always the typical gift requests of games, dolls, building sets and tech toys. One item that kids may not think to request is a microscope.

Now for my family, we have a kid microscope that is colorful plastic and plays facts about the few slides it came with. My boys used it when they were younger and recently my daughter started to use it. I honestly never thought to get a more professional grade microscope for them as I thought it would be too expensive.

Well, My First Lab has actually invested over 20 years of expertise to build a microscope that is budget-friendly. Their line of microscopes are inexpensive enough for children to use but powerful enough that adults can appreciate the image quality.

All of the microscopes in the My First Lab line use laboratory-quality glass or specially-coated plastic optics, giving clarity comparable to our laboratory-grade microscopes.

I got the chance to check out the Duo Scope from My First Lab. It is a microscope geared towards kids ages 9 and up that allows them use a more grown-up microscope without the huge cost. What I love about the Duo Scope though is it comes with everything you need to get started plus it can be used to magnify both slides and solids. It is no joke either as it contains real optical glass lenses, dual focusing knobs, 2 LED lights, multiple magnifications (40X, 100X, 400X) and more. It uses the same technology used by lab professionals around the world!

You get four prepared slides with this microscope perfect for right off the battle discovering. You do need to add AA batteries for the light but it does not need a plug which is nice. We are all about portability.

After your child is done with the four prepared slides, they can start creating their own. You get five blank slides to add stuff too and the instruction book includes ideas. I do wish there were more ideas as I am pretty clueless in the science department.

Honestly, I was impressed with what this microscope could do and my 9-year-old definitely didn’t expect to be able to see what he saw. We had a plastic microscope when they were younger with big plastic slides but this is so much more in-depthh. I want my kids to grow up curious and science is such a huge focus now. I admit too I am excited about making our own slides. I was telling my son how cool it would be to look at hair and drops of water. I will definitely be googling other things to check out under a microscope!

This microscope is something the whole family can enjoy and I do recommend starting it off with your child. It can be a little overwhelming if they are not big into science and without help they may not know what to do after the four prepared slides. I figure this will be a good project for me and the kids to tackle together anyways and all of us can hopefully learn something!

Looking for a pocket microscope?

Did you know there is a device that can attach to any smartphone or tablet (as long as it has a built-in camera) that allows you to have a microscope on the go? The Smartphone Inspector is a small clip-on device that is ready to go out of the package along with its set of slides. It is compact, lightweight and features up to 60X magnification! There is even a built-in light. I tried this out not knowing what to expect and was super impressed! At under $13, it would make a great add-on gift for any child (or even adult.)

BUY IT: Check out My First Lab for the Duo Scope and other fun science items.

WIN IT: (1) US winner will receive a My First Lab Microscope

Choose from:

• Duo-Scope Starter Kit
• Duo-Scope
• My First Lab WOW Scope
• Smartphone Inspector

Need help entering a giveaway?  Check out my blog post for some help!

GIVEAWAY ENTRY:

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This giveaway ends November 13, 2017.