Looking at a Water Flea under an Educational Compound Microscope
One of the many microscope activities that high school science teachers and students can do with their educational student microscope is to examine water taken from ponds or spring pools. There are many interesting microscopic organisms that thrive in these waters, especially when it has dried leaves or mud where these colonies can get their food.
When you look at pond water under an educational compound light microscope, there are many microscopic organisms that may surprise you. Most of them look like little crabs or lobsters and have a solitary eye. These microscopic organisms are grouped together under the name of Crustacea because of their shell covering. Crustacea came from the Latin word crusta that means skin. The outer shell is really an exoskeleton and serves to protect these tiny creatures. You will also notice that among the microscopic organisms there is one that looks to have a transparent covering. This is called the Daphnia and can be easily recognized because its insides can be seen due to its transparent shell.
The Daphnia is one of the most interesting microscopic water organisms that you can see under a compound student educational microscope. It moves about very quickly but it is not difficult to capture. You only have to make sure that you can transfer one to your microscope slide with the use of the dipping tube. However, you also have to make sure not to put too much water so that there will be little space for the Daphnia to swim around. Remember when you magnify the image under the student microscope, it is even harder to spot a rapidly moving animal as it can easily move outside of the field of view. The Daphnia is called a veritable dynamo because every part of it appears to move. If you look at it closely through the high power kid microscope, you can see its hair-like appendages at the lower part of its body moving rapidly. These microscopic appendages get the food and oxygen from its surroundings and direct it to its mouth.
It will be a very fun and educational activity for teachers, students and kids alike to study the Daphnia and its operations with optical equipment. If you look at a Daphnia carefully with the use of a high power compound light microscope, you will be able to see the alimentary tract where the food passes. You can also see its heart and its contractions and even the blood flowing through its body. If the Daphnia is a female, you will be able to see the eggs in her pocket. These microscopic eggs look like dark spots that are cuddled together. Looking at a Daphnia under a educational compound light microscope is a very interesting microscope activity that will surely be enjoyed by teachers and their students. The students will remember the exciting time they had when viewing this microscopic world that was previously unseen by their eyes. They may also want to press their parents to purchase a kid educational microscope for them so they can have their own optical instrument as an educational toy.
