Climbing the Learning Curve

Climbing the Learning Curve

I’m beginning to get the hang of this, doing experiments out of a book aimed at children. It’s very simple -  just my speed. It uses everyday things such as vegetables, hair, and skin plus many more things found around the house.

Experiments include using stains.  The Methylene Blue that came with the slide kit I bought was in a tiny container such that I couldn’t control the flow – could not get a single drop; it came out in blobs. A new larger bottle works just fine. Iodine is the only other stain I’ve tried so far.

My biggest challenge is focus. This inexpensive student microscope doesn’t have the delicate calibration of a more expensive scope. With practice I’ll get better. Using a hand-held microtome is another learning experience.

My “lab” is one end of the dining room table. A small wheeled cart holds all my paraphernalia. The microscope sits on the bottom shelf of the cart when the “lab” is closed down, and the cart rolls into a small space in another room.

I’m having fun looking at the microworld and learning a lot in the process.

I'm an Idiot!

I am an idiot. No explanation. Just take it from me. I missed something that should have been obvious. Maybe I'll explain it in a few years.
But, now I've found it and it'll make a big difference.  Onward and upward.

Impatience is Not a Virtue

I’m always anxious to get started, no matter what the project.

I got a slide preparation kit that included lots of handy things and 2 stains in powder form. I put off reconstituting them.

In the meantime, I did some beginners’ exercises. Salt: table, kosher, flake. Looked at some cheese mold. These have helped me get more comfortable with my scope. Then I got to another beginner task: cheek cells which should be stained.

Time to add water to the Methylene Blue powder.

Problem: I did not have gloves. Ancillary problem: I had no experience with or practical knowledge of this substance. I decided to try it anyway – I’d be very careful.  HA!  Tiny little bottle of powder. Eyedropper same diameter as bottle top. 

WOW! Is it BLUE! So was the toweling I used to soak up any spillage.  So were my fingertips and their nails.(Should have taken a pic) Running water helped very little.  Off to Google. Learned that diluted bleach was the answer; but I just used it full strength.

I’ll look at cheek cells tomorrow.

I now have gloves. And little jars of dilute bleach and rubbing alcohol among my kit. I guess every mistake is a learning experience. I hope every learning experience is not the result of a mistake.

Why a microscope?

Because I’m curious. I’ve always been fascinated by the sciences but never had the self-discipline to actually study one beyond high school. Then comes the cheap digital microscope (really just a camera with a magnifier) so I got one. 

Table Sugar

Grape stem cross section

It was fun but after a while I wanted more.

The next step was a student microscope with camera.  Didn’t break the budget and I think it’s a good way to start. Problem is that I didn’t know anything about microscopes. Time to dive into books and internet. As would be expected, a Google search found very helpful sites.

Microbehunter.com has been my premier microscope tutor. Oliver Kim has  great videos.  His explanations are clear and he presents topics in plain language without a lot of technical jargon even when discussing more advanced topics. There's a forum that even has a beginner's corner. I don’t have enough words to express my delight at finding such a great place to learn.

Of course, everything I learn leads to more Google searches. My notebook is beginning to fill fast.