Meade Microscope Magnifier 900X User Manual

Instruction Manual  
Meade 900X Microscope  
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Your new MEADE 900X Microscope is a doorway to new and exciting  
adventures and is designed to bring hours of enjoyment, wonder and  
just plain fun...discover the hidden microscopic world around you!  
Before trying out your new equipment, please take the time to read the  
important Cautionary and Safety information below.  
CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS  
NOTE: This set may include chemicals that could be harmful if misused.  
Read all cautionary statements in this Manual. This also contains instru-  
ments and other materials with sharp points and edges. This set is not  
to be used by children under 8 years of age, and always with adult  
supervision.  
Use under adult supervision. For children 8 years and up. The follow-  
ing chemicals may be included in this package, and could be harmful if  
misused.  
Eosin Biological Dye  
CAUTION: Harmful. Do not swallow. In case of accident, call a  
doctor. Keep away from young children.  
Gum Media  
CAUTION: Do not swallow. In case of accident, call a doctor. Keep  
away from young children.  
SAFETY INFORMATION  
General First Aid Information  
a) In case of eye contact: Wash out eye with plenty of water, holding  
eye open if necessary. Seek immediate medical advice.  
b) If swallowed: Wash out mouth with water, drink some fresh water. Do  
not induce vomiting. Seek immediate medical advice.  
c) In case of inhalation: Remove person to fresh air.  
d) In case of skin contact and burns: Wash affected area with plenty of  
water for 15 minutes.  
e) In case of a cut: Wash the cut with antiseptic solution (if unavailable,  
use clean water). Next, carefully place a bandage over the wound. In  
case of serious injury, you should seek first aid and inform a doctor  
as soon as possible.  
f) If in doubt or serious injury occurs, seek medical attention immedi-  
ately. In addition to the container, take these instructions and any  
material used in the slide preparation with you.  
ADVICE FOR SUPERVISING ADULTS  
a) Read and follow the instructions, the safety information and the first  
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aid information carefully. Keep them on hand for reference.  
b) The incorrect use of chemicals can cause injury and damage to  
one’s health. Use only the slide preparations listed in the instruc-  
tions.  
c) This microscope is for children 8 years and up, and only with adult  
supervision.  
d) Because children’s abilities vary, even within age groups, supervising  
adults should exercise discretion regarding which slide preparations  
are suitable and safe for children. The instructions should aid adults  
in assessing slide preparations to discern their suitability for each  
child.  
e) Supervising adults should discuss the warnings and safety informa-  
tion with the child before commencing the preparation of slides. Pay  
particular attention to the safe handling of chemicals (if used).  
f) Your preparation space should be kept clean, clear and away from  
any food storage areas. Prepare your slides in a well-lit area and  
close to a water supply. A solid table with a heat resistant top should  
also be used.  
g) A separate tin or bucket should be used for the disposal of solid  
waste materials. Any wasted solution should be poured directly down  
a drain, but never into a sink basin.  
h) To be used solely under the strict supervision of adults that have  
studied the precautions provided.  
Caution: Use care to install batteries in the orientation indicated by  
illustration in the battery slots of the battery holder. Follow battery manu-  
facturer’s precautions. Do not install batteries backwards or mix new  
and used batteries. Do not mix battery types. If these precautions are  
not followed, batteries may explode, catch fire or leak. Improperly  
installed batteries void your Meade warranty.  
® The name “Meade” and the Meade logo are trademarks registered  
with the U.S. Patent Office and in principal countries throughout the  
world. All rights reserved.  
© 2003 Meade Instruments Corporation  
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Let’s Begin!  
Microscope Features  
Take a few moments to study  
Figure 1 and become familiar with  
the various parts and features of  
your microscope.  
Carefully lift the microscope from  
the box using two hands. Place  
one hand around the microscope  
arm and the other under the base.  
For best results, use the micro-  
scope on flat, sturdy surfaces.  
Always be mindful of your mirror  
and light source. The more light  
that is reflected or transmitted  
through the hole in the stage, the  
brighter and sharper the images  
will appear in the microscope eye-  
piece.  
A.  
B.  
C.  
D.  
E.  
F.  
Tweezers  
Scalpel  
Spatula  
Prepared Slides  
Blank Slides  
Gum Media, Eosin  
Sea Salt, Brine Shrimp  
Eggs  
G.  
H.  
Blank Labels  
Fig. 1  
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I. Slide Cover Slips  
J. Color Filter. Use this filter to add color and  
enhance an image in the eyepiece.  
TIP: Begin viewing  
at the lowest mag-  
nification or power  
and focus the  
object. Once the  
image is focused,  
increase magnifi-  
cation by turning  
the objective turret  
and refocus.  
K. Butterfly Specimen  
L. Petri Dish  
M. Brine Shrimp Hatchery  
N. Eyedropper  
O. Micro-slicer  
P. The Eyepiece with fixed lens that has a 10X  
magnification. Remove the dust cover from  
the eyepiece and put it aside in a safe place.  
Q. The Body Tube. Connected to the eyepiece  
and helps focus the lenses.  
R. Power Indicator/ Objective Turret. The tur-  
ret has 3 lenses or objectives: 10X, 40X, and  
90X (See Fig. 2). The shorter the objective,  
the lower the power or magnification. The  
longest objective is the highest power. To  
calculate the magnification you are using,  
multiply the value of the objective by the  
power of the eyepiece (note that the power  
indicator on the turret makes this calculation  
for you). For example, turn the power indi-  
cator to the longest objective (90X), and  
multiply by the power of your fixed eyepiece  
(1OX) – you will magnify the object by 900  
times (note that the power indicator reads  
900). This means that the object appears  
900 times larger than it appears to the naked  
eye!  
Fig. 2  
CAUTION: Be  
careful as you turn  
the focus knob so  
that the objective  
lens does not  
Gently turn the power indicator on the objec-  
tive turret (R, Fig. 1). You will feel and hear  
the objectives lens click into place. Practice  
turning the focus knob (X, Fig. 1) in both  
directions and notice how far you can turn it  
without letting the objective come into con-  
tact with the stage (S, Fig. 1).  
make contact with  
a slide or the  
stage. This may  
cause damage to  
the slide and also  
to the objective  
lens.  
S. The Stage is a flat platform with a hole in the  
center to allow reflected light off the mirror or  
light source to enter the microscope.  
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T. The Stage Clips (2) hold the glass slide  
firmly onto the stage.  
U. Mirror/Light Source. While holding the  
base down, pull on the arm to tip the micro-  
scope back. Examine the mirror and light  
source located below the stage to see how  
you can adjust them, and choose one or the  
other. The light source turns on automatical-  
ly when tipped upwards toward the stage.  
The mirror gathers and reflects light into the  
microscope.  
TIP: Always keep  
both eyes open  
when looking  
through the eye-  
piece. Doing so  
will relieve stress  
on your eyes.  
As you look through the eyepiece, try adjust-  
ing the mirror and light source to discover  
how best to adjust the amount of light com-  
ing through the eyepiece.  
V. Base/Battery Compartment. Place the  
microscope on its side. To remove the bot-  
tom plate from the base, slide coin or screw-  
driver into slot. Gently lift and the base will  
pop open. Insert two “AA” batteries (user  
supplied) in the base. Match the positive (+)  
and negative (-) poles of the batteries with  
the (+) and (-) markings on the base (Fig. 3).  
To replace lid, position it over the opening  
and gently press down until it clicks into  
place.  
CAUTION: To pre-  
vent the wires  
attached to the  
light from breaking,  
never rotate the  
light source a full  
360°.  
W. Focus Knob. Slowly turn the knob back  
and forth to focus an object in the eyepiece.  
Notice what happens to the power indicator  
(R, Fig. 1) as you turn the knob.  
Start Observing!  
Now that you’ve studied the features of your  
microscope, it's time to take it out for a test drive  
and try out a simple observing exercise.  
1. Rotate the focus knob (W, Fig. 1) and lower  
the stage (S, Fig. 1) as far as it will go. Place  
Fig. 3  
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the 10X eyepiece into the microscope, if nec-  
essary. Turn the objective turret (R, Fig. 1) to  
the shortest objective (4X).  
CAUTION: Be  
careful not to touch  
the slide with the  
objective lens. You  
can break the slide  
and/or the lens by  
touching the slide  
with the lens.  
2. Put one of the prepared glass slides (D, Fig.  
1) under the stage clips (T, Fig. 1) and posi-  
tion the prepared specimen over the hole in  
the stage.  
3. Look through the eyepiece (P, Fig. 1) and  
slowly turn the focus knob until the specimen  
can be seen in focus.  
NOTE: The view  
presented in the  
eyepiece is  
upside-down and  
reversed from left  
to right of the  
object. In other  
words, if you wish  
to examine more  
of the left side,  
move the slide to  
the right. Or if you  
wish to examine  
more of the top of  
the image, move  
the slide down—  
and vice-versa.  
4. Observe what happens when you slowly  
move the light source (U, Fig. 1) or the mirror.  
Adjust the mirror or light source to provide the  
amount of light that gives you the best image.  
5. Look in the eyepiece and observe what hap-  
pens to the image when you move the slide  
from side to side and up and down.  
6. If you wish to increase magnification, rotate  
the objective turret to a higher power and  
refocus. Also, observe with the 25X eyepiece.  
Practice rotating the objective turret to  
change magnification.  
Try Out the Color Filter  
Locate the color filter (J, Fig. 1) and press it onto  
the bottom of the stage (S, Fig. 1). Below the  
stage, a fitting will line up with the opening in the  
center of the filter. Rotate the filter to change fil-  
ter colors. Remove the filter, turn it around 180°,  
and reinstall it onto the stage. Two more filter col-  
CAUTION: When  
you are finished  
observing, be sure  
to turn the light  
source around, if  
necessary, so that  
it turns off and  
Fig. 4  
doesn’t wear down  
the batteries.  
Remove the bat-  
teries before stor-  
ing the microscope  
for a month or  
Fig. 5  
longer.  
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ors are available in this position.  
NOTE: Use the  
color filter espe-  
cially when look-  
ing at clear or dim  
specimens.  
Install the filter as described above and turn the  
light source (U, Fig. 1) until it turns on. Set it so  
it shines through the filter. Take a blank slide and  
place a few grains of salt or sugar on it. Rotate  
the filter and see how the filtered light enhances  
the image of the salt or sugar.  
The Brine Shrimp Hatchery  
Brine shrimp are tiny crustaceans that are ideal  
for study with a microscope. Crustaceans are  
sea creatures with hard shells and antennae.  
Crabs and lobsters are perhaps the most well-  
known crustaceans. Brine shrimp are the major  
part of the diet of many sea creatures. The word  
brine means water containing noticeable  
amounts of salt. Brine shrimp are salt water  
creatures.  
Your microscope kit comes supplied with sea  
salt , brine shrimp eggs (G, Fig. 1) and a shrimp  
hatchery (M, Fig. 1). The brine shrimp eggs  
included with this set are dried and will remain  
alive for up to five years if stored in a cool, dry  
place.  
Perform the following procedure to hatch the  
brine shrimp eggs:  
1. To hatch the eggs, first prepare a brine solu-  
tion. Pour the entire contents of the vial con-  
taining the sea salt (G, Fig. 1) into a quart of  
tap water. Add the brine shrimp eggs into the  
solution. Allow the solution to stand at room  
temperature (70° - 80°F or 21° - 26°C) for 24  
to 48 hours and the eggs will hatch into nau-  
plius larvae (this is the first stage of develop-  
ment after leaving the eggs).  
2. Place some of the larvae into one of the com-  
partments of the shrimp hatchery (M, Fig. 1).  
3. Place some fresh brine solution in another  
compartment. Add a small amount of yeast to  
this new solution. Then, using the eyedropper  
(N, Fig. 1), transfer some of the larvae into  
this compartment as well. The yeast will  
serve as food and produce oxygen for the lar-  
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vae as they develop into maturity. Without  
food and oxygen, the shrimp cannot develop  
and will die. Mature brine shrimp are known  
as Artemia Salina.  
Note: Using an eyedropper with just the right  
pressure to get a desired amount of liquid  
onto a slide can be harder than it looks. Take  
out a clean slide and practice squeezing a  
drop of water onto the slide until you feel  
comfortable that you can control the size of  
the drop that you’re squeezing out.  
4. Observe the life cycle of the shrimp as they  
grow: the dried eggs, the hatching eggs, the  
developing larvae, and finally, the mature  
shrimp.  
5. The mature shrimp may be fed to fish in an  
aquarium if you so wish. However, first  
remove the shrimp from the brine solution  
and place them into fresh water. An increase  
in salt may harm the fish in the aquarium.  
TIP: Don’t always  
assume that  
increasing magnifi-  
cation will produce  
the best image for  
viewing.  
Make Your Own Slides  
It’s so easy to make slides that the variety of  
slides you can create will be limited only by your  
own imagination.  
Each time you  
increase in magni-  
fication, the  
amount of light  
decreases, and the  
section of the  
image you are able  
to view also  
decreases. This is  
desirable for some  
specimens, but not  
for others.  
A section of almost any material can be placed  
on a slide and observed with a microscope. All  
you need is the proper equipment and a little  
patience, and you’ll be making slides in no time.  
Everything you need for the experiments in this  
booklet can be found in this kit or your home  
(make sure to ask a parent first before you bor-  
row any of his or her items, such as the measur-  
ing cup). Locate the follow items:  
• Scissors  
• Paper towels  
• Petroleum jelly  
• Natural, uncolored toothpicks  
• 2 or 3 small bottle caps  
• Wide mouth jar and lid  
• 3 or 4 paper cups, or any small containers  
which can be discarded after use.  
Next, set up your work area....the kitchen table  
• A measuring cup  
Experiment  
observing with all  
three objectives for  
all specimens until  
you get a feel for  
magnification lev-  
els.  
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(make sure to ask a parent for his or her permis-  
sion), the desk in your room....any place where  
you can work undisturbed.  
Label 3 of your cups: clean, flush and waste. Fill  
the flush cup with clean water. Next, you will  
obtain a specimen and make your first slide.  
Want to See Crystals?  
Use a measuring cup to measure one or two  
ounces of hot (but not boiling) water and pour it  
into a clean cup. Slowly add as much salt to the  
water as will dissolve. Stir the solution  
continuously while adding the salt.  
Begin to start  
thinking like a sci-  
entist as you per-  
form your experi-  
ments. Observe  
carefully, take  
notes (make sure  
you date them),  
and most impor-  
tantly, keep your  
equipment and the  
working environ-  
ment clean.  
Experiments work  
best with clean  
and uncontaminat-  
ed equipment.  
And your parents  
will be appreciative  
of a clean work  
area, too.  
Use the eye dropper (N, Fig. 1) to place one or  
two drops of the salt solution onto a clean slide  
(Fig. 4).  
Allow the slide to dry. You are now finished with  
your tools for this experiment. Clean your tools:  
put the eyedropper in the flush cup, take up  
some water and release it into the waste cup. Do  
this two or three times. Stir the flush water.  
The slide will dry covered with a white sub-  
stance. Place the slide into the microscope  
stage. Rotate the light source of the microscope  
until it turns on. Before reading any further, look  
through the microscope eyepiece and write  
down what you observe.  
If you carefully performed the experiment, you  
will see little crystal cubes. A grain of table salt is  
made up of many cubes. Place one or two grains  
of table salt on another blank slide and compare  
it with the slide containing the crystal cubes.  
If you wish to save your crystal slides, use a  
toothpick to put one or two drops of gum media  
(F, Fig. 1) on the slide and gently place a cover  
slip on top of the media (Fig. 5). Lightly tap the  
cover slip with a toothpick to evenly spread the  
media under the slip.  
Attach a label to each slide and set aside for a  
few days until the media dries. If you don’t wish  
to save the slides, wash the slides in clean water  
and liquid soap. Rinse well and dry.  
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Further Experiments: Try out the above proce-  
dure with other salts such as Epsom and  
Rochelle. Sugar will also crystallize, but you will  
need to let it dry overnight for the crystals to  
form.  
Preparing a Mount  
Dip your spatula (C, Fig. 1) in some clean water  
and make a smear across a clean slide. Use  
your tweezers (A, Fig. 1) to place a portion of an  
insect—a wing, a leg, or an antenna—on the  
slide. Attach a cover slip (I, Fig. 1) over the spec-  
imen and place the slide on the microscope  
stage.  
Obtain a piece of hair from your head or from  
your pet and place it on a wet slide. Try this  
again with more than one type of hair on a slide  
and compare how they differ. Also try a piece of  
fern (or other plant) and pollen and compare  
them as well.  
To save your slides, put gum media on a clean  
dry slide and then position your specimen in the  
media. Place a cover slip over the media and  
attach a label.  
Creating Smears  
Using your scalpel (B, Fig. 1), gently scrape off  
small shavings from the surface of a freshly cut  
potato.  
Smear the shavings onto a clean slide (see Figs.  
6 and 7). Clean the scalpel by swishing it in the  
flush water. Draw up some water using your eye-  
dropper from the cup labeled clean and put one  
drop onto the slide. Attach a cover slip to the  
Fig. 6  
Fig. 7  
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slide and place to the microscope stage.  
Observe the slide and write down your observa-  
tions. You will see hundreds of starch grains.  
Take a few kernels from an uncooked ear of  
corn. Scrape off some shavings and make a  
smear as you did with the potato. Compare how  
the corn is different from potato. Create smears  
of other foods such as apples, bananas, peach-  
es, and pineapples. You will observe that these  
items have membranes rather than starch.  
To save your slides, put gum media on a clean  
dry slide and then position your specimen in the  
media. Place a cover slip over the media and  
attach a label.  
Before you make a permanent mount, you may  
wish to stain the specimen first.  
Staining Smears  
Note:  
Not all specimens are easily observed in the  
microscope. Staining specimens make them  
easier to see. Staining is not difficult, but it does  
require care. It is recommended that you keep  
paper towels nearby as the process can be  
messy.Before you prepare the smear, you will  
need to prepare the eosin. See note at the left.  
In order to stain a  
slide, you will need  
to prepare the  
eosin:  
Without opening  
the container, look  
closely at the  
First, create a fresh smear (you may use shav-  
ings from an apple or other piece of fruit), as  
described previously. Do not place any water or  
a cover slip on the specimen. Set the slide aside  
to dry, if necessary.  
container marked  
“Eosin (F, Fig. 1).”  
You’ll notice a few  
grains of ‘dust’ at  
the bottom of the  
container. These  
are the grains of  
eosin. Remove the  
container’s lid and  
use the eye  
dropper (N, Fig. 1)  
to fill the containe  
with water. Gently  
stir the mixture.  
You have now  
When the slide is dry, use the eyedropper to  
place one drop of eosin (F, Fig. 1) on the slide.  
From the cup labeled flush, draw up water into  
the eyedropper. Dispose of the water into the  
cup labeled waste. Perform this operation a few  
times to clean out all the eosin from the eye-  
dropper.  
Tilt the slide from side to side to spread the stain  
over the specimen. Remove the excess fluid to  
the waste cup. Put down the slide and wait about  
two minutes.  
prepared the eosin  
for use.  
To flush away the excess stain and to stop the  
staining action, hold the slide at an angle over  
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the waste cup. Using the eyedropper, touch the  
slide just above the specimen area and slowly let  
the water drain into the cup.  
With a paper towel, pat the underside of slide  
dry. Be very careful and try not to touch the  
specimen. Allow the specimen to air dry for sev-  
eral minutes.  
Some of the specimen will be flushed away, but  
enough will remain on the slide to make good  
observations. To save your slides, follow the pro-  
cedure described previously.  
The Micro-Slicer  
CAUTION: The  
blade of the micro-  
slicer is very  
sharp. Handle the  
micro-slicer with  
care.  
Insert specimens you wish to study into the holes  
of the micro-slicer (O, Fig. 1). Rotate the knob to  
cut your specimen into thin slices. The Micro-  
slicer is an ideal tool in the making of section  
slides.  
A Simple Section Slide  
Section slides are extremely thin slices of tissues  
of skin, leaves, flower stems, and other materi-  
als. Generally, section slides are very difficult to  
make without special equipment and proce-  
dures. However, there is one common house-  
hold item which can be sectioned without special  
equipment: the common onion, made up of lay-  
ers of tissue.  
Peel off the very thinnest layer you can. One that  
is nearly transparent will make an ideal section.  
Slice into a piece about 1/4 x 1/4 inch.  
Put two drops of eosin (F, Fig. 1) in a bottle cap.  
Pick up the piece of onion with your tweezers (A,  
Fig. 1) and place it in the bottle cap.  
Wait for a minute or two. Using the tweezers,  
remove the piece from the stain. Hold it over the  
waste cup and flush it with clean water from your  
eyedropper. Place it on a clean slide. To save  
your slide, follow the procedure described previ-  
ously.  
Life Under Glass  
Fill a wide mouth jar with fresh water. Let it stand  
for three or four days without the lid. Then drop  
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a handful of dry grass and a pinch or two of dirt  
into the jar. Put the cap on the jar and keep it in  
a place where it will receive light (but not direct  
sunlight).  
In about five days, you may examine the water.  
First make a special slide: Using a toothpick,  
make a ring of petroleum jelly on a clean slide.  
The ring should be smaller than a cover slip and  
be about half as thick as a slide.  
Remember, you  
can make a speci-  
men slide out of  
almost any materi-  
al. When you are  
on a playground,  
at school, in a  
park, or just sitting  
around at home,  
train yourself to  
look at all the  
Put a drop of water from the jar onto the slide  
inside the ring. Use the lowest power of your  
microscope and write down your observations.  
Did you detect any movement in the water? The  
movement is caused by microscopic animals.  
Try to focus on one of the animals – this may not  
be very easy as a drop of water is like an ocean  
to a microscopic creature.  
material around  
you. Keep an eye  
out for what might  
make a good spec-  
imen and discover  
the hidden micro-  
scopic world that  
surrounds us all.  
If the animals seem to be moving too fast to  
study or don’t stay in focus for very long, soak up  
a little bit of water with a corner of a paper towel.  
Care for Your Microscope  
The MEADE 900X Microscope is a precision  
optical instrument and, when treated with care,  
will provide you with years of use and discovery  
fun.  
Always carry the microscope with two hands  
—one around its arm and one under the  
base.  
Always remove slides from the stage before  
putting the microscope away.  
Cover the microscope when not in use.  
Do not use anything except lens cleaning tis-  
sue to clean the lenses.  
Never touch a slide with the objective lenses  
of the turret.  
Remove the batteries before storing the  
microscope for a month or longer.  
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7/03  
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