The New Apex Learner Microscope

This microscope is great quality and perfect for our 8 year old. I see it lasting many years as it feels so robust. It's perfect for general interest viewing and for school science projects in future.It comes with some plain glass slides, and also some slides which are pre-prepared with samples such as cheek cells and pollen. After inserting the batteries it was simple to operate..... insert a slide, switch on the light (illuminates a specimen from under the slide or above), and focus. It takes hardly any time at all to work out the best lens and light combination to use. Our 8 year old had no problem focussing. We find it's easiest to initially locate the specimen with the lower power lens, then graduate up to the higher power lenses.So pleased we splashed out on a proper microscope rather than the cheaper "toy" ones available for kids. We have been highly impressed with the detail that can be seen using this microscope, for example - individual cells within a drop of blood, scratches at the tip of a pin head.The microscope comes in a cardboard box so well protected for delivery. If you can stretch to it I would highly recommend the case that's available for this microscope for longer term storage and protection - it's a bit pricey but worth it.We also bought the pre-prepared Apex slides of insect parts which were fascinating and great as an introduction to the power and viewing possibilities of this microscope. Apex also sell other slides/accessories.Apex themselves were very quick to answer a query I had about the purchase, so I am impressed on the customer service front too!All in all a lovely, quality microscope - would highly recommend.

I love this microscope. I have a three year old and a 4.5yr old and both can use with ease. This microscope is great as you can look at either slides or whole objects. We now use it most days collecting flowers, leaves or dead bugs we find to look at. So largely looking macroscopically but occasionally eg for pollen, microscopically.Both boys can use the eye piece with ease (the younger just covers one eye) and the older one can start to focus using the dial after a few days.I also like that it takes battery or electric power (my last one only took batteries which constantly ran out/needed recharging).I don’t know how well it’ll hold up long term but it seems sturdy and should be treated with respect anyway!

Well made, metal body and stage, good optices ( glass, not plastic) and above and below stage lighting that allows you to see solids as well as slides. Cost is £54 which is a VERY good price for the quality provided. Batteries for the led lighting were included.Downside - only supplied with x10 eyepiece and a x5 is needed as well. A x5 will cost around another £20 so it is better to go for the more expensive model that includes this eyepiece.Also, the lower led lighting is very bright at low magnifications and could do with an iris or dimming control.I would highly recommend it as an introduction to microscopy

I was very impressed with this microscope which I bought for my 6 year old granddaughter. As a previous microscopist who was used to an instrument that cost thousands I was amazed at how good the optics were and how easy it is to focus well. Was also very pleased with the top light that made looking at thicker specimens such as lichens, mosses and crystals properly very easy. Would like to be able to get hold of more good slides to look at. The only problem was that the top light has a poor connection and is a bit difficult to keep on. However altogether a nice instrument and good value for the money.

After spending many days sifting through the various microscopes for a childs birthday present, I decided to go with this one. It had really good reviews and of the not so good reviews, the company was quick to respond, even implementing changes based on consumer feedback so this is a HUGE bonus in the event of something not to my satisfaction. (The last part was the reason I purchased this M/Scope over all the others on offer.)Positives:It is very light, but still sturdy and feels like a grown up microscope rather than a childrens toy. The microscope function is really good, it has three interchangeable zoom lenses. (However, you must be careful as with the final lens because with movement, it comes pretty close to the slide and one slide is cracked already due to getting too close.) The twin lights are brilliant, as you can switch between them to see different things on the slides. Most of this is really well made, which makes me feel good about purchasing at such a high price.Negatives: For such a high price, the DIY kit is a little flimsy (but its for children so the little plastic bits are ok.) Only 4 slides come with it that children can DIY. And it also comes with 5 pre arranged slides. I would have liked to have seen a few more in the starter kit. But then again, it's called a 'starter' kit so I guess you can argue that the price includes the bare minimum. However I would have preferred to pay a little extra if it had more pre-prepared slides due to the cost of buying them separately from other sources. (Other microscopes on amazon do come with more slides than aforementioned but do not have as good as rating as this machine and have been described as 'cheap childrens toy.' Alternatively, you can check on amazon and buy pre-made slides with all sorts of things but are a little costly, between 20-30 pounds.)My final negative is the battery pack area which reminds me of cheap, battery powered toy that you would find in Poundland. There is no battery separation, its just a square plastic box. (This is the only flimsy part on the machine.) In the event a battery should leak it will destroy all the batteries, rather than removing it from a contained space so the others are not affected.Still, all in all a 5 star product and really happy with it.