Thursday, June 14, 2012

Review: Discovery Scope


Can I start this review with my bottom line?  Today I'm reviewing a product I think every kid should have.

Now, if you want to just trust me on it, click the banner and hit purchase.  If you want more info, feel free to keep reading.  There's some fun pictures of my kids coming, so maybe it will be worth your time!

So what IS a Discovery Scope?  The website describes it as "a handheld, wide-field microscope" but that doesn't exactly tell the average mom what to expect.  So let me show you the basic stock photo:


That didn't do much for me either.

Basically, what you've got is one tough little doodad that lets you clip in something to look at through an amazingly easy to use microscope.  Here's another stock image:


Go ahead.  Blow that one up so you can see it better.  Let me comment a bit.
  • It is sturdy.  I won't go so far as to say my kids couldn't break it... but they would have to really, really try.
  • It is so totally easy to learn to use.  Even my 6 year old (pictured below) had the hang of it after maybe 3 minutes of me showing her how to use it.
  • You get something focused, and it stays there.  You can hand it to someone else, and they can look too, and understand what you are telling them to look at.
  • It is small enough to throw in a pack and bring on a hike, out camping, wherever.
  • And it is FUN.  
  • Plus it's educational.  This is a Homeschool Crew review.  I have to mention it is educational.
So let's take a look at some of what my kids have done with this.  Richard grabbed a shiny new penny and clipped it on.


He was fascinated by how "not shiny" that penny looked under the microscope.

Thomas grabbed some plant parts while he was outside, and then struggled a bit with how to clip them so you could actually see them.  So he brought some specimens inside to work with.

He was able to see even more detail than the above images show... and we were busy identifying all kinds of flower parts.

Trina -- princess dress and all -- ended up combining the little zippered bag (Biology in a Bag) and the Quick Slide (though this isn't exactly how the Quick Slide is intended to be used) to get up close with a grasshopper.


We also used the Clear View Chamber to take a look at what was living in the water left standing after the severe storms we had here this past week, but I couldn't figure out how to photograph that (Dale took all of the above pictures).

This is the kit we got:

Beach stuff not included!
For $40, this is something that I truly believe every kid should have access to.  Whatever their interests... plants, animals, bugs, rocks, stamps, coins, dirt, sand, their own dirty skin... just to name a few things MY kids have looked at... the Discovery Scope is a way to get a closer look at the world around us.

Seriously.  Your child -- or a child you know -- needs one of these.

To see what my fellow crewmates had to say about the Discovery Scope, click the banner here:



Photobucket



Disclaimer:  As part of the TOS Schoolhouse Review Crew, I did receive products as mentioned above for the purposes of a review.  All opinions are my own.  For more about my take on reviews, visit my blog post here.

5 comments:

Kayla said...

I made the same point in my review....this is NOT just a homeschoolers product. It is just loads of fun for us "big kids" too! We loved this one!

Unknown said...

I so wanted that!!!!!!!!! I so am going to get that lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Guess I will be buying soon!!!!!!

Kym said...

These look soooooo cool!! I want one, and if my kids ever see these reviews, they will want one too. LOL

Amy B said...

I'm pretty sure two of my siblings who are not homeschoolers -- they are educators -- are buying this! We love it, and I can't imagine not having one now! Definitely for any child, but in my house it is MY TOY and you better not lose it if you borrow it LOL.

Anonymous said...

I love the pictures, what a neat tool!