Microscope Books

Introductory - Kids

These two books are terrific additions to a microscope and will give children, parents and grandparents a fount of ideas and experiments to work on.

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  • The Microscope Book
    Shar Levine & Leslie Johnstone

    This is a great book! It is full of interesting and thoughtful experiments that are drawn from your immediate surroundings and kids love it. We thoroughly recommend this book for first-time microscopists.

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  • The World of the Microscope
    C. Oxlade, Corinne Stockley

    Another recommended book for children that is highly colorful with hundreds of simple experiments.

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Intermediate Study

The following recommendations are for older kids from about 10 years and up who have a more serious interest in microscopy.

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  • Complete Book of the Microscope
    Kirsteen Rogers

    The Usburne series of microscopy books are always colorful and informative. This one has the added bonus of relevant internet links for further exploration of any given experiment. It receives enthusiastic reviews from teenagers.

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  • Guide to Microlife
    Kenneth G. Rainis

    This book is an excellent classroom or home-schooling resource. It is divided into four sections: monerans (bacteria), microfungi, protists, and microanimals. There are numerous drawings and color slides with useful information on microscopes, collecting specimens and slide preparation.

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  • How to Know the Protozoa
    Theodore L Jahn, Eugene C Bovee, Frances Floed Jahn, John Bamrick, Edward T Cawley, Wm. G Jaques

    Jahn, Bovee, and Jahn's work is a well-known an introduction to protozoa. The book describes over 500 species of the subkingdom Protozoa, and also explains how to how to classify, collect, preserve, and observe them under the microscope. It has good illustrations and excellent pen and ink drawings while the writing is clear. Highly recommended for anyone interested in protozoa.

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  • A World in a Drop of Water
    Alvin Silverstein

    This inexpensive volume showcases an array of curious creatures: a blob-like amoeba; a slipper-shaped paramecium and its mortal enemy, the suctorian; and many others. The authors recount the feeding, reproductive, and defensive strategies employed by these animals in easy-to-understand language that opens the door to a wonderful world of discovery. 37 illustrations.

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Advanced Study

Further reading for the advanced student and adult.

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  •  Jerome Mertz's Introduction to Optical Microscopy provides a rigorous and comprehensive overview of the fundamentals of optical microscopy. Starting from basic principles in Fourier optics and 3D imaging theory, Introduction to Optical Microscopy explores a broad range of advanced microscopy techniques. These include classical techniques such as phase contrast, confocal microscopy, epi-fluorescence, etc.

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