Review on TK2 Scope Biology and Durable Metal Microscope Set with Glass Optics by Thames & Kosmos - Includes 25 Experiments and 48 Page Lab Manual, High-Quality for Students and Professionals (636815) by Julie Lee

For a student in grades 4-9 I think it's a pretty good microscope. I bought it for my 8 year old niece in 2010 and last year I had the opportunity to use it for a science project with her. As a professional microbiologist and college professor, I doubted how well I would see samples. But for the price I was really surprised. We could see aquatic protozoa, soil crystals and blood cells. One reviewer remarked that the 40X objective didn't work, but to be honest the 40X objective is known to be a very dry objective and does not produce a very sharp image on any microscope. I don't let my students use it on the Nikon scopes we have, but the kids will still be able to see the image quite well. I'm glad I bought this for my niece and she is passionate about science. I also liked that it comes with accessories so she can create her own slides and color them in. The instructions are easy to understand and you can use it right out of the box. Tell them to clean their lenses with lens paper - don't use paper towels or they'll scratch the lenses.