Microscope Activities for Middle School
Microscopes give people an opportunity to investigate the parts of life that are too small to see. Microscope activities for middle school children should encourage them to explore and understand their world, while challenging them to keep learning about it. Experiments should help explain how things work and instigate questions that require further research.
Study Onion Cells
All living things are made up of cells. Cut up a red onion and use only one small piece of it for the experiment. Look at the onion under the microscope. Put a drop of water on a microscope slide. Remove the thin outer layer and carefully put it on top of the water. Place a drop of iodine stain (or water) on the onion skin. Magnify the onion until you can identify the nucleus, cytoplasm and cell wall.
Synthetic vs. Natural Fibers
Use clear tape to collect fibers from many sources. Make a chart to post, label, and categorize each sample. Include descriptive words and uses in your chart. Place the taped fibers under the microscope to see details in them. Compare synthetic fibers against natural fibers to determine their differences.
See How Mold Grows
Put a drop of iodine stain on a microscope slide to create a wet mount. Collect a small sample of mold cells and put them on the slide. Study the structure of the mold and identify its parts. Take notes and compare your sample to a mold chart and determine what type of mold you collected. Record your data in a notebook, adding drawings and research notes. Continue sampling mold from different sources, keeping records of your work.
Study How Leaves Breathe
Collect several different species of leaves. Paint a thin layer of household cement on one side of them, and make a cast. When the cement is dry, carefully remove it with tweezers. Place your leaves in a display case, with room for their casts beside them. Put the cement casts under your microscope to count the stomata (leaf openings) on each leaf. Compare leaves from different plants to determine which ones take in more oxygen and give off more carbon dioxide. Study how stomata are arranged in each species and make a hypothesis about whether this helps them survive.
Find Out the Age of a Fish
Carefully remove scales from a dead fish and let them dry. Put one dried scale on a microscope slide. Add a small drop of corn syrup to the slide and place a cover slip on top. Gently press down on the top of the slide. When you look at the fish scale under the microscope, you will see some ring markings. The heavy markings identify fish age in years. Compare several scales from the same fish to make an accurate assessment of age.
Tags: microscope slide, under microscope, Activities Middle School, drop iodine, drop iodine stain, from different
