My daughter asked for a microscope for years and years, and we finally relented last year for her 8th birthday when we threw her a science birthday party. Ever since that day, she has been “sciencing” everything she can get her hands on, and we love it. 
Before we got it for her, we did our research. We looked at a ton of kid microscopes and finally came to the conclusion that the Duo-Scope microscope from My First Lab was perfect for us. My First Lab is part of C&A Scientific, a scientific supply company with over 20 years of expertise. Their goal was to build a microscope that is inexpensive enough for a child, but still possessed the image quality an adult would want, and they definitely succeeded. 
In the past year and a half, the Duo-Scope has been a huge hit with her as well as with all her friends and it has a place of honor on her school/art desk. With two light sources, it allows you to magnify both slides and solid objects, so it’s great for curious kiddos like mine. It’s also lightweight and battery powered so kids can take it to any room in the house, to club meetings, or even outside with ease.
With an impact-resistant frame, you don’t have to worry about small bumps and can actually let the kids play. Before we let them loose with it, we showed them how to use it so they wouldn’t accidentally crack the slides while looking through the scope, and then we let them “science” whatever could fit on the scope platform. 
We love our Duo-Scope from My First Lab so much that when they offered their newest scope for review, we couldn’t say yes fast enough. We were so excited to welcome the WOW scope to our science collection, which is short for “World Of Wonder” Scope. The WOW scope is the best way to view 3D objects up close, which is what we found ourselves doing most of the time.
And, WOW is right! We’ve found that the learning opportunities are endless with the WOW scope, and it makes it easy to “science” all the objects we find on our adventures and in our home. Like the Duo-Scope, the WOW scope is lightweight and has top and bottom light sources, and you can view prepared slides as well as solid objects. With 10x and 25x eyepieces for up to 50x total magnificaton, it means you can see with magnificent detail what you can’t see with the naked eye.
I love listening to the kids squeal as they realize that there’s a whole dimension of cool that wasn’t visible to them before and now it’s larger than life through the WOW scope. I remember that feeling in school when every once-in-a-blue-moon the microscopes would come out, and I love knowing that the kids don’t need to wait for those learning opportunities. 
We found this dragonfly a few months back and have been wanting to really get a good look at it up close, and the WOW scope finally gave us that chance. It was breathtaking seeing this beautiful creature up close and taking in all the detail in those tiny little wings. 
As portable as both the Duo-Scope and WOW scope are, sometimes we need something ultra-compact, and for those times we turn to My First Lab’s Smartphone Inspector. If you’ve got a phone, you can then turn it into a microscope with this nifty little attachment that could fit in a tin of mints. Because it’s an adaptable add-on for something you’re already carrying, it is super easy to science on the go. 
This, folks, is as compact and lightweight as it comes, but it’s still allows you to see up close in detail. The Smartphone Inspector features 60X magnification, which is decent enough to view most everyday objects in beautiful detail. And, with it’s small price tag, it makes a wonderful stocking stuffer for the kids, tweens, and even teens. 
I love that My First Lab is making science and learning so incredibly easy. With these three scopes my kids can “science” literally anytime they get a free moment, and they take advantage of that often. Now science doesn’t have to be reserved for a science lab, which I feel is giving them a much better understanding of the world around them, and encouraging their natural curiosities in so many other ways. 
If you’re looking for professional grade microscopes at a budget-friendly price, I would highly recommend My First Lab’s array of fully assembled microscopes. Their offerings put the focus on science and learning this holiday season, and that’s something we all can get behind. 
Is science important to you and your kids? What are some ways you encourage your kiddos to explore the world around them?