Objects:

1. a small piece of color printed newspaper

2. a similar piece of paper from a magazine

What to do:

Make short-term specimens from the objects and observe them with the lowest magnification.

Result:

The colored pixels of the newspaper often overlap. Sometimes, you‘ll even notice two colors in one pixel. In the magazine, the dots appear clear and rich in contrast. Look at the different sizes of the pixels.

Objects:

1. threads from various fabrics (e.g. cotton, linen, wool, silk, rayon, nylon, etc.)

2. two needles

What to do:

Each thread is placed on a glass side and frayed with the help of the two needles. Next, wet the threads and cover them with a cover slip. Set the microscope to one of the lower magnifications.

Result:

Cotton fibers come from a plant, and look like a flat, twisted ribbon under the microscope. The fibers are thicker and rounder at the edges than in the middle. Cotton fibers are basically long, collapsed tubes. Linen fibers also come from a plant, and they are round and run in one direction. The fibers shine like silk and exhibit countless bulges on the thread. Silk comes from an animal and is made up of solid fibers that are small in diameter, in contrast to the hollow plant-based fibers. Each fiber is smooth and even and looks like a tiny glass tube. The fibers of the wool also come from an animal. The surface is made of overlapping sleeves that look broken and wavy. If possible, compare wool from different weaving mills. In doing so, take a look at the different appearance of the fibers. Experts can determine which country the wool came from by doing this. Rayon is a synthetic material that is produced by a long chemical process. All the fibers have solid, dark lines on the smooth, shiny surface. After drying, the fibers curl into the same position. Observe the differences and the similarities.

Object:

1. normal table salt

What to do:

First, place a few grains of salt on a slide and observe the salt crystals with the lowest setting of your microscope.

Result:

The crystals are tiny cubes and are all the same shape.

Objects:

1. Table salt

2. Test tube filled halfway with hot water

3. Cotton thread

4. Paper clips

5. Matchstick or pencil

What to do:

Add salt to the water until it no longer dissolves. We now have a saturated salt solution. Wait until the water has cooled. Fix a paper clip to the end of the cotton thread. The paper clip serves as a weight. Tie the other end of the cotton thread into a knot, stick the match through and dip the end with the paper clip in the salt solution. Place the match horizontally on top of the test tube. It prevents the cotton thread from slipping all the way down into the test tube. Now, place the tube in a warm place for 3-4 days.

Result:

If we take a look at the glass after a few days, we can see that a little colony of salt crystals has formed on the cotton thread.

Accessories:

1. Shrimp eggs

2. Sea salt

3. Hatchery

4. Yeast

The Life Cycle of Brine Shrimp

Brine shrimp, or „Artemia salina,“ as they are called by scientists, have an unusual and interesting life cycle. The eggs produced by the female are hatched without ever being fertilized by a male shrimp. The shrimp that hatch from these eggs are all females. In unusual circumstances, e.g. when the marsh dries up, the male shrimp can hatch. These males fertilize the eggs of the females and from this mating, special eggs come about. These eggs, so-called “winter eggs,” have a thick shell, which protects them. The winter eggs are very resistant and capable of survival if the marsh or lake dries out, killing off the entire shrimp population. They can persist for 5-10 years in a “sleep” status. The eggs hatch when the proper environmental conditions are reproduced. These are the type of eggs you have in your microscope set.

The Incubation of the Brine Shrimp

In order to incubate the shrimp, you first need to create a salt solution that corresponds to the living conditions of the shrimp. For this, put a half liter of rain or tap water in a container. Let the water sit for approx. 30 hours. Since the water evaporates over time, it is advisable to fill a second container with water and let it sit for 36 hours. After the water has sat stagnant for this period of time, add half of the included sea salt to the container and stir it until all of the salt is dissolved. Now, put a few eggs in the container and cover it with a dish. Place the glass container in a bright location, but don‘t put it in direct sunlight. Since you have a hatchery, you can also add the salt solution along with a few eggs to each of the four compartments of the tank. The temperature should be around 25º. At this temperature, the shrimps will hatch in about 2-3 days. If the water in the glass evaporates, add some water from the second container.

The Brine Shrimp under the Microscope

The animal that hatches from the egg is known by the name „nauplius larva.“ With the help of a pipette, you can place a few of these larvae on a glass slide and observe them. The larvae will move around in the salt water by using their hair-like appendages. Take a few larvae from the container each day and observe them under the microscope. In case you’ve hatched the larvae in a hatchery, simply take off the cover of the tank and place the tank on the stage. Depending on the room temperature, the larvae will be mature in 6-10 weeks. Soon, you will have had raised a whole generation of brine shrimp, which will constantly grow in numbers.

Feeding your Brine Shrimp

In order to keep the brine shrimp alive, they must be fed from time to time, of course. This must be done carefully, since overfeeding can make the water become foul and poison our shrimp population. The feeding is done with dry yeast in powdered form. A little bit of this yeast every second day is enough. If the water in the compartments of the hatchery or your container turns dark, that is a sign that it is gone bad. Take the shrimp out of the water right away and place them in a fresh salt solution.

Warning! The shrimp eggs and the shrimp are not meant to be eaten!