Educational Insights Nancy B's Science Club Microscope and Activity Journal

No matter how you focus the dial, you can’t see the slides.

My Granddaughter loved making her own slides! Educational and lots of fun!!!

Got this for our second grade son. After only using it a couple times the lights started going dim both top and bottom. Changed the batteries and nothing different happened. It was fun while it lasted but that was not very long. Would not recommend to anyone. Waste of money.

I had purchased this as a gift for my niece, having had very good luck with other products from this company in the past. I opened it and set it up to make sure I knew how it worked before giving it to her. There were two large black spots obscuring about one third of the viewing area. I attempted to clean the lenses and with over twenty years of experience with photo equipment was confident that I could do so properly without any damage added on my part. Neither of the black spots had even moved, which would seem to imply they were internal to the microscope and there was no fixing it. I also did not care for the focusing mechanism. The sliding tray seemed to catch as it moved up and down, and it was difficult to get a good focus. I was able to focus it well on the 30x and 400x lenses, but the tray would stick while trying to get it to focus on the 100x lens and I didn't see a clear image at all. Very disappointed overall, I did not expect anything lab quality, but at the price expected better. I will be returning it in hopes of finding something better quality.

Bought as a gift to my daughter and found out on first usage that lenses were defective, stained with permanent dark spots (see pictures). In addition,zoom quality was very poor.

excellent - i loved the promo code

It's not easy to find a good quality microscope for kids that isn't too expensive. Nancy B's Science Club Microscope and Activity Journal fits the bill! The microscope comes with four prepared slides and my son poured over them so much that I ordered additional prepared slides. I was impressed by the clarity with which we were able to view the slides. I also liked the activity journal that came with the microscope. It showed us how to prepare our own slides and continue learning. The activities were fun for my son yet easy for me to assist him with so I considered the journal to be a valuable addition to the microscope.

I ordered the Educational Insights Nancy B's Science Club Microscope and Activity Journal and was mainly looking forward to utilizing for the science section of school for my kids (we homeschool our kids). The night we received it and took the microscope out of the box, I was amazed at how eager all of my kids were to get their hands on it! My fourteen year old son was especially excited about checking out different things under the different magnifications. When I was a kid, I had a microscope but, instead of a built-in light, I had to rely on a quarter-sized mirror at the bottom of the unit to reflect light across the specimen. Thankfully, this microscope is self-lit and it makes viewing the items on the slides a HUGE breeze! This item is great for my younger homeschooled kids in grades 1st and 3rd, but this has also proved helpful with my son's experiments in 9th grade Biology. Thanks for making such a fun and easy to use product. I anticipate relying on this tool throughout the school year and just for fun :)

Education Insight's Nancy B's Science Club® Microscope and Activity Journal is an absolutely wonderful product for kids! As a homeschooling mom I've been on the hunt for the perfect microscope for my daughter. She absolutely loves nature and learning about new things so I knew Nancy B's Science Club® Microscope and Activity Journal would be something she'd really enjoy. I'm blown away by the quality of this Nancy B's Science Club® Microscope. I've seen many microscopes on my hunt for the perfect one and none of them even compare to this one. I love that it has a light both on top and on bottom. It works perfectly and does 30x, 100x, and 400x magnifications which is perfect for viewing even the tiniest of things. I also love that it comes with a few sample slides so you can begin using the microscope right away. You can also use the blank slides to create your own slides which is my daughters favorite thing to do. My daughter enjoys finding new things to view and is extremely excited to use her Activity Journal to document her findings. Nancy B's Science Club® Microscope and Activity Journal is a fabulous set. I highly recommend it! It comes with everything you need to get started and is sure to be enjoyed for years to come!

I LOVE THIS! My kids and I spent hours looking at things like fly wings, saliva, cotton, couch fibers, etc. My eight year old wants to collect different leaves and compare them now, while my six year old wants to look at the hairs from the cats, dogs and rabbit we own to see if they look different. They can keep notes on what they see and compare and contrast them, which I think is GREAT! This is a fantastic product, especially for the value! It is easy to use and my kids were able to use it themselves with very little to no help from me. I would definitely recommend this and gift one to a few friends!

What a great microscope, we used the slides it came with to look at, and it is such detail. The kids were amazed at how much they can see, and were surprised at what simple things looked like when they are magnified. The work book is great for getting involved in more details, and doing your own experiments. We are working on getting the onion peel right now, and seeing all the cells. Fantastic!

This is a great toy version of a true microscope. I really liked the durable and safe plastic slides and slip covers. It is really nice that it comes with some pre-made slides for immediate learning and exploration. The light is bright enough to see the images and the magnification for a plastic toy is fantastic. I was surprised by the quality and ability of this microscope and the magnification. One recommendation would be to include a box/case for storage of all of the small parts. I imagine they will easily get lost/broken/or misplaced without somewhere for them to live. I'd recommend this toy for budding scientist explorers

My 7-Year-Old Daughter unpacked this Microscope and could instantly identify what it was. As we reviewed what the slides were and how to adjust the magnification, I popped in the Fish Scale sample that comes with the kit. I heard her give an audible "ahhh, wow!" As a Dad, these are moments we live for. To see our kids find wonder in things we once did. I love the science kit that accompanies this instrument, as well as the journal. There are a lot of examples on how to collect samples, and what to look for. I'm looking forward to going exploring more things we can investigate together and feel this will help to foster that sense of wonder for Science. Overall, the equipment is sturdy, it has bot an under-light and an over-light. It allows you to be your own scientist. Nice Job EI. This is a big win.

I'm a homeschooler and was thrilled when I found out Educational Insights has a line of science tools that were affordable and kid-friendly. The microscope and book work well together. The activities were easy to accomplish and manageable as far as suggested materials. My 1st grader loves it! I appreciate that it increased her enjoyment of science and exploring.

I got the Nancy B's Science Club Microscope and Activity Journal for my curious first grader. When my son saw it, he was so excited and couldn't wait to try it. Although it's purple and teal and seems designed more for girls, it didn't bother him at all. The microscope comes fully assembled but needs three AAA batteries. It's small and lightweight; a child can carry it to the table. This microscope has a bottom light (light microscope) and a top light (dissecting microscope) with three different magnifications: 30x, 100x, and 400x. Also included are various tools (no sharp edges) as well as a 22-page activity journal. It's sturdy and looks like it can stand up to rough play. There are prepared slides as well as blank slides with cover slips and slide labels. I do wish it came with more prepared slides, a storage case for the microscope, and a reusable bag for the tools. The first thing my son did was view the four prepared slides (stoma, peacock feather, wool, & goldfish scale). He was able to adjust the light source, magnification power, and focus by himself. The 30x and 100x had good views, but we had trouble seeing things with the 400x. This magnification would probably be more suitable with cheek cells or microorganisms. The journal is very thoughtful and well written. Besides teaching you how to use the microscope, the scientific method, and documentation, it also includes interesting activities. The language is easy for children to understand and the activities are straightforward. Various user tips and fun facts are also found throughout the book. Many parents may not have the time, knowledge, or inclination to create activities for the microscope on their own. Don't worry about it; it's already been done for you. I would rate it 4.5 out of 5 stars, an excellent toy. He said, "Mom, Nancy B makes the best toys ever!!!!!!!" (He said to include seven exclamation points.) We received this product in exchange for an honest review.

The Nancy B. Microscope is great for my 8 year old and I love that she still has many years to grow into it. The activity book is perfect and helps her and I have in-depth conversations about science, but the best part is that the microscope is still fun for my 5 year old and she can be included in the activity as well. I love that both my girls are now excited about science finding things around the house that they can look at in the microscope. As well, the activity book helps mom (a non-scientist) teach and learn with them.

We just got Nancy B's Microscope and Activity Journal. This microscope was the perfect introduction for my eight year old to the world beyond what the naked eye can see. In fact, she was the one who came up with the title of this review. The kit included premade slides with specimens that she found fascinating. Her favorite one was the peacock feather. And then she spent the next few days going through our house and garden making various slides of everything she could find. I loved the fact the she learned the difference between a light microscope (light source coming from the bottom) and dissecting telescope (light coming from top). She would look at every specimen both ways and at all 3 magnifications. She has just started the actual activity journal and is so excited with each activity. A big hit in our house!

My 8 year old daughter is a STEM girl, and so far is really enjoying this product. The microscope came with a bunch of slides, some pre-made and some to make on her own, and a number vials, tubes and tools for exploring the microscopic world around up. The accompanying book has about a dozen experiments to try and journal about, which supports the scientific process and teaches about documenting your findings, which is great. I think my daughter also appreciated that the microscope and book were are pretty as they were functional (something she really appreciates). Unlike many of the other reviewers, we have had no issues with focusing at any of the three magnification levels - it just takes some time to get used to how it works. The bottom light seems much dimmer than the top light, which may be the way all microscopes work (I have never really used one before). Some other reviewers describe the item as flimsy. It IS plastic, but works really well. I think if it is treated right, it will last. I don't think anyone could find something with more substance (metal?) at this price point. It is perfect for a kid to get experience with microscopic science and if they take to it, you can always upgrade to a more expensive model later. I took off one star because I do wish the manual and instructions were a little bit more descriptive, with pictures maybe, of what each accessory is and looks like. The slide covers and slide labels are in the same container, with the labels on top and covers under. In the diagram, which is a side view, it wasn't clear what the cover looked like and my daughter had two slides with labels instead of covers, despite reading the instructions carefully (I read them myself and can see how she was confused by them). My other other wish is that it came with some kind of storage box (although I understand it would probably raise the price point). There are a lot of accessories/slides with it, and I am now looking for an affordable

This is a great beginner microscope. My 6-year old liked playing with it. The prepared slides are great to start observing right away. I wish there were more included. The journal has good ideas for making slides on your own and other things to observe. For my 6-year old, I did have to help her each time putting the slide in the right spot so that the specimen comes into view (but this would be of any microscope). My review would have been 5 if this kit came with a pouch or a box to store all the small pieces.

My daughters love this microscope. Science class is one of their favorite so they were super excited when they received this microscope. They are constantly looking for items to put under it. Every time we are in the park, they pick up nature's things to then use with their microscope at home. Keeps them busy for hours and it's educational. Happy kids = happy mom. The microscope seems to be well built and is easy to use.