Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Discovery Scope



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The coolest tool/toy to come into this house lately is the Discovery Scope! Yes it is a tool, it can be used for many scientific investigations, but it is so fun to use and interesting to play with we call it a toy around here.

Everybody in the house from the toddler to the teens to the adults have been fascinated with it since the day it arrived. It has been stuffed in pockets, purses, dropped in the fish tank, stepped on, and lost by the toddler (but thankfully found!) and I have to say this is one well made piece of equipment!

So what exactly is a Discovery Scope? It is a wide field microscope that fits in your hand, weighs less than a cell phone, and can be easily taken with you everywhere you go. I never knew there were so many interesting things to look at up close in nature, I just never really thought about it too much before.


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Our kids have always used a magnifying glass to look at bugs and rocks. The Discovery Scope is not just a glorified magnifying glass, yet it isn't as powerful as a full size microscope either. The inventor of The Discovery Scope wanted a better alternative to a classic microscope, one you could use in the object's natural environment instead of placing it in a slide to be able to view it.

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You can get up close and personal with flowers, pieces of bark, blades of grass, anything you can clip onto the special clamp tool and look at.

My kids used it to look at their own hair and eyes, and it is safe to do that because there are no lights or anything to damage your eye. It works with natural light.

In the pictures below you can see the special clear viewing chamber that also comes with The Discovery Scope. You can place live animals inside and watch them! We caught a tadpole the day we took these pictures that was just starting to grow legs. Fascinating stuff! Have you ever seen a tadpole's eye up close? You should!




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 Discovery Scope gets two thumbs up from everyone around here! I love the portability, I love how durable it is, and it is easy to use. There is a never-ending supply of things to look at, we discover new things every day! You don't have to be a homeschooler to enjoy this, just a curious person who loves to discover what God's creation has to offer.





If you have a really nice camera you can even take pictures of what you see through the discovery scope. I tried using my regular camera and cell phone camera but I wasn't able to get any good images to share. Other reviewers were able to though, you should visit their blogs to see the neat pictures they got, just click on some of the links here to see other reviews.






A basic kit costs $40.00 and includes one scope, one mini-clamp, one multi-use chamber holder, two 1" x 3/4" clear view chambers, and one water dropper. It comes packaged in a re-useable Ziploc container.

A naturalist kit costs $55.00 and includes one scope, one mini-clamp, one multi-use chamber holder, two 1" x 3/4" clear view chambers, and one water dropper. It comes packaged in a custom bag.

You can call and ask for Priority shipping which is usually a cheaper option if you like. This option will be added to the website soon.


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Disclaimer ~ We received this product at no charge in exchange for an honest review after using it in our homeschool. No other compensation was given. All opinions expressed are my own. To see reviews from other homeschooling families click on the banner above.

3 comments:

  1. We certainly have been enjoying our Scope! I think this is the best review item, ever!

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  2. We LOVE our scope! And, I am getting tons of inspiration from reading everyone elses reviews! I want a tadpole!

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