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Copyright © 1998
Nova Scotia Museum

Working with your microscope

1. Set up the microscope on a steady table. If it tilts, adjust to a comfortable angle and be sure the tilt screw is tight. If the base is not heavy enough to hold it steady, you might tape the base to the table.

2. Check the light supply. With nothing on the stage, select the lowest power (shortest) objective and look through the eyepiece. Adjust the mirror until you see a bright, evenly-lit circle. If the light remains dim, move to a table near a window or shine a desk lamp on the mirror.

3. When you have light, put an "easy" slide on the stage, like an insect leg, for example. Be certain the specimen is directly under the objective, i.e. over the centre of the hole in the stage.

4. Turn the focus knob until the objective goes as far as it can without touching the slide.

5. Finally, look through the eyepiece and focus by turning the focus knob slowly in the other direction. Always focus slowly. If your instrument has two separate focus knobs, adjust the coarse (the larger knob) focus first.

If you don't see anything but light, go back to step 3.
If you lose the light, go back to step 2.

Once you have examined the specimen under low power, try this:

• fiddle with the mirror. Sometimes you can change the light and see the specimen in a different way.
• as you look through the eyepiece, try moving the slide to see different parts of the specimen. This takes practice.
• try a high-power objective, but expect the light to be dimmer. You will probably have to change the focus a bit.