Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Great beginner microscope. I suspect that the majority of the low reviews for this microscope are from people that either have little microscope experience or were expecting it to do things it was never designed to do. I have a degree in biology (although I'm not employed in a biological field), so I have plenty of experience using lab quality microscopes. This microscope produces a reasonable level of clarity and magnification. Children will be able to see individual cells, and even nuclei. Yes, it can be a little bit hard to focus at times since there is no fine adjustment, only coarse, and yes, your field of view does move a bit while adjusting it. But again, this is a $40 microscope made for kids. This is more than good enough to introduce your child (or even adults) to the world of microscopy. The kit is great, and will give the user plenty of things to do with the microscope. A few prepared slides, and tools to make some simple slides of your own are included, along with the brine shrimp kit. I was pleasantly surprised by what this microscope can do, and can't wait to give it to my daughter for the holidays (I took it out of the box and tested it first due to some of the bad reviews on here). If you are inexperienced with microscopes, here are a few tips: make sure that what you are trying to view is in the center of the aperture (where the light comes through), and always start on the lowest magnification.