Application Guide
SUGGESTIONS FOR MAKING YOUR OWN
PREPARED MICROSCOPE SLIDES
Always begin with clean slides and cover slips. Handle slides
carefully by the edges to avoid fingerprints. Use forceps to
handle cover glass. Extreme caution and adult supervision
recommended when cutting specimens.
Temporary or “Wet” Mounts
Tissue-type specimens such as plant sections:
1. Carefully cut the specimen as thin as possible.
2. Place the specimen on the slide.
3. Use the pipet to place one drop of water on the specimen.
4. Carefully place a cover slip over the specimen, allowing
the water to spread under the glass.
5. The cover slip should be flattened against the specimen
and slide as much as possible, avoiding air bubbles.
6. Blot any excess water carefully with paper tissues.
7. Carefully place the slide on the microscope (cover slip
side up) and observe.
You may want to try reversing steps 2 & 3; place a drop of
water on the slide first, then put the specimen on the water
before placing the cover glass. Experiment with each method
to find the best results for each specimen. Keep in mind these
are only temporary mounts, when the water evaporates and
the specimen dries out, it will not be suitable for observation.
Simple Semi-Permanent Mounts:
Follow the same basic procedure as above but try using
CLEAR GLUE instead of water to hold the specimen and
cover glass to the slide. Allow the glue to dry before
observing the specimen.
SOME IDEAS FOR OBSERVATION
1. Crystals: Place a few grains of dry salt or sugar on a slide
to observe. Also try adding salt to a spoonful of warm
water and then place a couple drops on a slide. Leave it to
dry and then observe the re-crystallized salt (or sugar).
2. Shake some grains of pollen from a flower onto a slide.
3. Hairs, including pet hair, or pieces of feathers, can be
observed. Try comparing hairs from various animals. You
can use a small piece of tape at each end of the hair to
hold it on the slide.
4. Fibers in different kinds of paper, printing from a
newspaper or typewriter. Threads or fibers from different
types of fabric. Compare natural fibers such as cotton and
wool to synthetics like polyester.
5. Stagnant water from a pond will contain live organisms.
Place a drop into the well of a concavity slide for
observation.
6. Very small insects may be seen completely under low
power, or try looking at parts such as legs or wings of
larger bugs. Always handle insects with tweezers and
wash hands thoroughly after working with your
specimens.
7. Many specimens may look transparent under the
microscope. It’s common to stain them to make the cells
show up better. Iodine is a common stain. You may also
try soaking your tissue specimens in a solution of ordinary
food color for a couple of minutes to stain them. Use the
tweezers to pick up the “stained” specimen. Allow the
“stained” specimen to dry before using glue to mount it.
Remember the stain will color anything else it touches, not
just your specimen, so be careful with furniture and
clothing.
8. You may get better results with top lighting from a table
lamp next to the microscope on certain specimens.
MFLKIT 9.2013