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The following things are not included in the kit, but are useful when using the
microscope: To absorb excess liquids and to clean all of the equipment, it makes
sense to always have a few paper towels handy. Some sheets from a kitchen roll,
paper tissues, or even paper from a roll of toilet paper fulfill this purpose terrifi-
cally!
To cut objects for your preparations, you are going to need razor blades. You can
buy them at a drug store or supermarket. Of course, it goes without saying that
sharp blades need to be handled with care. Nonetheless, it is recommendable that
you cover the blades on one side. There are basically two methods for this. Try
both out and, in the future, work with the method that you like best. Have your
parents help you with both of the following steps.
1. Insulating tape method: You simply take sturdy electrical tape and stick several
strips of it over the blade on one side of the razor blade.
2. Bottle cork method: Using a knife, cut a slit along the length of a bottle cork
(about to the middle) into which you can then stick a razor blade. Then you can
simply hold the razor blade by the "cork grip."
Paper tissues or paper towels are useful for wiping up liquids or rubbing the slides
dry. They are also used to absorb liquids under the cover slip (see Chapters 4 and
5), although a piece of blotter paper can prove useful for this too. When using
staining solutions, follow the safety precautions on page 3.
To produce thin slices, a cutting aid is often needed (see also Chapter 12). For this,
arrange some pieces of styrofoam such as that used for packing, for example. An-
other possibility is to use a piece of carrot for this purpose.
You can get other preparation accessories such as dye reagents, prepared slides,
etc. from specialized microscope and science stores, who often sell through mail
order on the internet as well.
But that's enough of an introduction. In the next chapter, you will finally get to
work on your first self-prepared slide!
The insulating tape grip greatly reduces the
danger of injury.
A cork is helpful here, too.
Take a styrofoam cube (or a piece of carrot)
and cut a slit into it from above. Then stick your
object into it (a piece of grass stalk, a leaf, a
root, etc.). Make sure that the object is standing
straight in the styrofoam (or carrot). Now you can
put the razor blade to the styrofoam and slice
through the styrofoam and the object.
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