WOW STUFF NHM1005 National History Museum Microscope

I picked this up as a stocking stuffer a couple of years ago for my (then) 9-year-old daughter. She loved it -- and her two cousins (ages 9 and 6 at the time) loved it, too. We had to set a time limit on its use so everybody could have a chance. The worst thing about it was the inevitable exclamations of "Oh, COOL!" or "Wow..." from the child with the scope, which would have the other two clamouring for a shot, and lots of skirmishes and complaints... So considering how cheap it was and how AMAZING the clarity and magnification are for the price (and wanting to avoid any more arguments!) I ordered two more microscopes for them.Like all children, their attention wanders from time-to-time, and they temporarily "forget" about their pocket microscopes...but every so often the microscope resurfaces as a favourite toy and we find them excitedly examining something new. My nephew accidentally cut his finger a few weeks ago but (before we dressed it) he insisted upon saving a drop of blood... Recently my daughter (now 11) has become interested in anything relating to spies, mysteries, code-breaking, scientific investigation, etc. so the scope has come out again and is sitting on her desk being used every day. That's not bad for a 2+ year old toy that cost £5.00. She certainly has far more costly toys lying around gathering dust...!And my husband and I are not immune to the thrill of seeing magnified fibres, liquids and bits of the human body under the light - and we're both 42 years old!I have another niece now approaching her 8th birthday so I've just purchased another one of these nifty scopes for her. She lives in the U.S. and (sadly) Amazon.com does not appear to stock it, so I'll have to ship it myself. Worth it.If you're looking for a small gift at a low price with a very high cool factor, buy this. You won't be disappointed.

I do think that for the money this is a good scope for casual use. The huge drawback, which almost had me giving it three stars, is that, as other reviewers have noted, the battery cover is almost impossible to get into. Pushing the designated button with your finger does not push it in far enough to release the cover. Unless you use something with a small point, such as the end of a suitcase lock key or the end of an opened up paperclip, to push the button in, the case cannot clear the pushed in button and you cannot open the cover. Even with the button pushed in far enough, however, the cover is still very difficult to slide off because the tabs on the cover, which are inserted into slots on either side of the scope, have no slant on their outside edge. Once I got the cover off (a long and trying process) I solved this problem by taking a small kitchen knife to the plastic tab and trimming its outside edge. I did not have to take more than a sliver off and the cover now goes on and off (once the button is pushed in far enough) easily.

I'm one of those annoying people that always read the reviews but never write one. However, I felt compelled to say something about this product. We bought this for my daughter's 6th birthday because she has started to show an interest in 'science' and we want to encourage it as much as possible. I have to admit, it was smaller than I had assumed it would be BUT it is the absolute perfect size for my daughter. It is easy for her to use (and me!) and she can barely contain her excitement as she discovers something new. It is so easily transportable and has survived the garden and the park so far so I think we are onto a winner. It's nice and light so it doesn't give the illusion of being in-destructable. Having said that, we have no complaints about how it's made and see it as an opportunity to teach our daughter the importance of taking care of such equipment.I disagree with other people who have criticised it and have said 'you get what you pay for' - in this case I think you get more than what you pay for. It doesn't claim to be a high spec microscope but it really is fantastic as an introductory one for children who are excited about discovering the world around them. A real plus side is that you can use it with the slides or you can take it off the stand and port it around with you. Even our guinea pigs have been inspected (although they really didn't stay still long enough for our daughters to see very much!)And us grown ups have had lots of fun with it too.I am so glad we bought this. It arrived in great time and I am already planning on buying a couple more for birthday presents. It will undoubtedly be coming on our 'exploration' trips when we camp in the New Forest over the summer. Well worth the money.