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For TKC Sales Natural History Museum (NHM-1005), 776 customer reviews collected from 2 e-commerce sites, and the average score is 4.5.

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8.1.2012

I picked this up as a stocking stuffer a couple of years ago for my (then) 9-year-old daughter. She loved it -- and her two cousins (ages 9 and 6 at the time) loved it, too. We had to set a time limit on its use so everybody could have a chance. The worst thing about it was the inevitable exclamations of "Oh, COOL!" or "Wow..." from the child with the scope, which would have the other two clamouring for a shot, and lots of skirmishes and complaints... So considering how cheap it was and how AMAZING the clarity and magnification are for the price (and wanting to avoid any more arguments!) I ordered two more microscopes for them.Like all children, their attention wanders from time-to-time,and they temporarily "forget" about their pocket microscopes...but every so often the microscope resurfaces as a favourite toy and we find them excitedly examining something new. My nephew accidentally cut his finger a few weeks ago but (before we dressed it) he insisted upon saving a drop of blood... Recently my daughter (now 11) has become interested in anything relating to spies, mysteries, code-breaking, scientific investigation, etc. so the scope has come out again and is sitting on her desk being used every day. That's not bad for a 2+ year old toy that cost £5.00. She certainly has far more costly toys lying around gathering dust...!And my husband and I are not immune to the thrill of seeing magnified fibres, liquids and bits of the human body under the light - and we're both 42 years old!I have another niece now approaching her 8th birthday so I've just purchased another one of these nifty scopes for her. She lives in the U.S. and (sadly) Amazon.com does not appear to stock it, so I'll have to ship it myself. Worth it.If you're looking for a small gift at a low price with a very high cool factor, buy this. You won't be disappointed.
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31.5.2012

I'm one of those annoying people that always read the reviews but never write one. However, I felt compelled to say something about this product. We bought this for my daughter's 6th birthday because she has started to show an interest in 'science' and we want to encourage it as much as possible. I have to admit, it was smaller than I had assumed it would be BUT it is the absolute perfect size for my daughter. It is easy for her to use (and me!) and she can barely contain her excitement as she discovers something new. It is so easily transportable and has survived the garden and the park so far so I think we are onto a winner. It's nice and light so it doesn't give the illusion of being in-destructable.Having said that, we have no complaints about how it's made and see it as an opportunity to teach our daughter the importance of taking care of such equipment.I disagree with other people who have criticised it and have said 'you get what you pay for' - in this case I think you get more than what you pay for. It doesn't claim to be a high spec microscope but it really is fantastic as an introductory one for children who are excited about discovering the world around them. A real plus side is that you can use it with the slides or you can take it off the stand and port it around with you. Even our guinea pigs have been inspected (although they really didn't stay still long enough for our daughters to see very much!)And us grown ups have had lots of fun with it too.I am so glad we bought this. It arrived in great time and I am already planning on buying a couple more for birthday presents. It will undoubtedly be coming on our 'exploration' trips when we camp in the New Forest over the summer. Well worth the money.
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9.2.2018

A fantastic pint sized device that will get kids attention.I bought this for my son's 6th birthday. It looked simple to use and it was so inexpensive that I wasn't frightened to put it into his hands.At first he wasn't sure about it. He's usually obsessed with any and every kind of vehicle. My goal with this microscope was to get him interested in more than just cars, tractors and tanks.Setting it up is easy enough. You just pop in the 3 batteries that are provided that make the torch work and tadaa! You're ready to go. I did struggle to get the battery compartment open. It says to press a small button and pull the cover off.Well I tried and tried and couldn't for the life of me remove the cover - until I realised that it's best to press the button right down with something. I used a plastic fork to push the button in and that did the job nicely. However I can't use this struggle as a negative against the product as I was having a bit of a blonde moment and should have realised that such a small button would need more than just my hand to be pushed right down. So my bad.Once I showed my son how to use it (which took a matter of seconds) he was off. When he realised what it actuslly did he was amazed. He spent the entire day looking at anything and everything he could get his hands on through his microscope.I had a go too. The image is clear and crisp once you've fiddled with the two simple dials, its amazing how close up it can get and I'm so pleased with the product.
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29.8.2015

Although promoted as a toy, the Natural History Museum Pocket Microscope is ideal for use as a cheap field microscope. The plastic construction is reasonably robust and images are sharp and clear, especially using the LED lamp. The battery compartment is slightly awkward to open as a safety locking button needs to be pressed while simultaneously pulling the cover open. An important safety feature if this microscope is to be used by children as it uses small button cells that could be easily swallowed by a child. The LR44 button cells are expensive if bought from general retailers but they can be purchased from Poundland or similar discount shops very cheaply.Three button cells are needed to provide 4.5 volts for the LED to work. If three AAA batteries were used, the product would have been much larger and heavier, so a reasonable compromise has been made between battery life and portability.The supplied stand and plastic slides are adequate for their intended purpose, but glass microscope slides will also fit and can be used.The image quality is superb for the price. Higher magnification would have led to optical abberation effects and disappointing results. This instrument covers the tricky area between what can be imaged with a decent loupe and what needs a proper bench microscope to be seen. This product cannot be beaten for the price in terms of image quality and general usefulness. A useful and entertaining purchase for all ages which won't break the bank.
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5.1.2012

I made my purchase of this little gadget after reading recommendations and excellent reviews from friends and amazon. And I'm not disappointed when I got it. In fact, the husband, 5yo daughter and I are amazingly happy! I, however, am the only person who gets to carry it wherever I go. :D I bought 2 at the first purchase. I'm getting a few more. They make excellent gifts!Good: The image is very clear and is very easy to focus. The LED light provides wonderful lighting to illuminate the subject. I love that you don't have to have to rest what you want to look at on a slide to view (although it is provided). We brought it into the jungle and had a wonderful time looking at fungus, tree bark etc close up.And because it is so compact, I've put the set in a little oilcloth pouch and keep it in my bag all the time, allowing me to whip it out whenever there's an opportunity. It's very lightweight yet doesn't feel flimsy. The focus dials are easy to operate and very accessible.Bad: The light switch button is very easy to press, which is ok, but as it jiggles around in my bag, sometimes, it gets accidentally pressed on and I find the light turned on for long periods of time (thus wasting the battery). I also would've preferred if it came with some sort of sturdy but lightweight bag rather than having to find one myself.
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2.2.2010

This is a superb microscope considering it's under £10. Unbelievable really.I use it to examine the scratch patterns on blades and it is perfect for the job. I used to work in a cytology lab, so I have some experience with optics and for this price the pocket microscope is incredible. Don't be fooled by toy microscopes claiming to have 1000x magnification - you can't achieve that without expensive optics and the specimen has to be properly prepared in order to view it at that magnification. The 1000x toy microscopes just give you a faint blob of light with some vague fuzz where the specimen is supposed to be. Their objective lenses are tiny and they have very low light-gathering capability.The 40x magnification on the pocket microscope is a real 40x with a bright,crisp image. The Natural History Museum did the right thing - they went for high quality optics at lower magnification.It's a great educational toy, for sure (try examining a bank note with it), but it's also completely fit for purpose for anywhere where you need good magnification. Worth having around even if you don't have kids.At this price, you simply can't go wrong. For once you will get more than what you paid for.
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17.3.2011

I bought this because my 6 year old grand-daughter was desparate to look down 'grandads microscope' - but a real microscope is just too fiddly for a 6 year old!I have 35+ years experience in pathology laboratories, so I have experience of some very high quality optics in my career.This is a very small compact device with an LED light source and a monocular eyepeice to a removable stage. There is a theoretical zoom on the magnification between x20 & x40.If you accept the limitations of the design this is a truly remarkable peice of equipment that can be used as both a detailed 'magnifying glass' for looking at dead insects,leaves and other solid objects (coins etc)as well as a simple microscope that will look at prepared slides of anything behind a coverslip.The criticisms I have are minor and few - the zoom does not work, it just de-focusses the optics, the stage is very stiff, so that a slide will not easily move about. I can't comment on battery life, but I would guess with a single LED you are not going to be buying batteries very often!If you are looking for an educational 'toy' or a simple useful tool - buy it, you won't find better for the money!
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26.5.2011

THIS IS A REVIEW OF THIS "TOY" AS AN ADULT TOOL (it's that good!) -as in title - couldn't be easier to use & it gives extremely clear views -excellent for identifying household beetles! -I wanted to distinguish between "biscuit/drug-store" beetles & "common furniture" beetles, which are very similar in appearance (for distinguishing feature-differences, see Pied Piper's page on biscuit beetles) & this definitely did the trick -the instructions say to attach objects to the glass slides with cellophane tape to stop them moving but I found this unnecessary - first I drowned the poor beetles in dilute borax (alias eco-friendly insecticide - obviously couldn't quickly crush them cos then they'd no longer be identifiable)& then I put them back-to-back on the glass slide (so as to hold them on their sides to see their profile, which shows the distinguishing features of these particular beetles - the drop of solution they were in effectively held them in place - the lens can't get unsafely near the objects) -luckily I only had the biscuit variety - for the peace of mind this gave me, I'd almost happily have paid 10x the price!
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24.10.2010

I don't write as many good reviews as I should, but this wonderful little microscope motivated me to spare the time within hours of receiving it.I've worked with top-of-the-range Zeiss laboratory microscopes and at home I have the very creditable Apex 'Explorer Plus' and 'Researcher' which work perfectly for an amateur naturalist like me. But reading the reviews of this NHM microscope I couldn't resist buying it for taking around with me on my explorations. It literally does fit neatly into a pocket.I certainly wasn't expecting as much as I got when I first looked through it. Like many others, I'd had very disappointing experiences as a child when trying to get any kind of clear image from the toy microscopes that were around in those days.I know that my interest in natural history would have developed much earlier if I'd had one of these back then.Any child with a sense of curiosity would love this, but I'm going to be buying several for nature-loving adult friends too. It's a stocking filler well worth the unwrapping.Just off to look for more treats from the Natural History Museum...
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2.12.2016

I do think that for the money this is a good scope for casual use. The huge drawback, which almost had me giving it three stars, is that, as other reviewers have noted, the battery cover is almost impossible to get into. Pushing the designated button with your finger does not push it in far enough to release the cover. Unless you use something with a small point, such as the end of a suitcase lock key or the end of an opened up paperclip, to push the button in, the case cannot clear the pushed in button and you cannot open the cover. Even with the button pushed in far enough, however, the cover is still very difficult to slide off because the tabs on the cover, which are inserted into slots on either side of the scope,have no slant on their outside edge. Once I got the cover off (a long and trying process) I solved this problem by taking a small kitchen knife to the plastic tab and trimming its outside edge. I did not have to take more than a sliver off and the cover now goes on and off (once the button is pushed in far enough) easily.
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23.5.2011

I was excited about this bargain - having read the other reviews. The first thing my husband did when it arrived today was put a tiny squished fly on the slide. Yuck. But, when I looked through I was amazed! It is unbelievably clear, I've never seen so much detail apart from in a photo in an encyclopaedia.40x magnification doesn't sound like much - compared to other microscopes which offer around 1000x. But those 'bargain' microscopes are often really poorly focused and unclear - what's the point in getting a high magnification if you can't focus it? This one might 'only' do 40x, but it does it PERFECTLY.So, while you won't be able to use this product to look at blood cells or whatever,it is still a really useful purchase. Fantastic for aspiring bug hunters (like my husband, apparently...) - and I'm looking forward to putting flowers and leaves under it too.Really can't recommend this enough. If you're considering introducing your child to the exciting world of microscopes, start here! Can't go wrong at this price.
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24.6.2011

We got this microscope for our grandson's sixth birthday. He was really quite pleased with it. It is of course Chinese plastic, but seems to have been carefully and well designed. The focus is very smooth; the zoom of 20x to 40x is a bit rough and ready, but the choice of magnification is about right for younger children. It works well when placed on top of something or when a "slide" is inserted in the little holder. The built-in LED illumination works well for opaque objects.The description mentions two "slides". These are two small rectangles of plastic with very slight recessions in them for mounting specimens. I can't see these being very successful. If giving this as a present,it's important to understand that the item itself does not contain anything to look at. I made up my own slides by cutting some pieces of transparent sheet to the right size, finding something to look at (eg. a small dead fly), picking it up with a bit of sellotape and then sticking fly and tape on to the sheet. This was greatly liked!Mike
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29.12.2011

If your child is a bit clumsy or heavy-handed then don't expect this to last more than a few minutes or days. Don't let this put you off ordering one, probably best though to order two to be on the safe side. If, however, he or she takes care of their things then this could provide many many hours of fun, entertainment and education. I simply cannot believe how far it can zoom in, we've looked at so many different things together so far: the ink on match-attack football cards, salt, buscuit crumbs, hair, skin, carpet (which was a bit unnerving, didn't know what we might find), jewlery, salt, flowers, the list goes on.The unit itself is made of brittle, light plastic.The base is detatchable so the microscope can be used anywhere and on anything. Comes with two plastic slides which aren't always necessary but useful for studying powders and liquids, has a built-in light and has easy-to-use zoom and close-focus controls.Excellent value, every child should have one.
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5.2.2015

Absolutely fantastic, incredible value and speedy delivery, bought on Feb 4th received on 5th. Bought for my 13 year old daughter and she loves it. Really clear image, great magnification, perfect for home use as well as out and about. We home school our kids and wanted an inexpensive but quality Item. At £9.50 (at time of purchase) I thought this would be terrible but reading the reviews and seeing customer images I thought what the heck let's give it a try, it's under a tenner if it's rubbish it won't break the bank. So glad I did. My daughter actually bought it for herself with some birthday money. My two boys 6 and 10 also want one too, so I just purchased them one each for their up coming birthdays as "stocking fillers".A day after getting it for my daughter and they were down to £8.99 so even better bargain! I would highly recommend this microscope to all parents for their kids and to anyone who just wants a cheap microscope for a bit of fun!
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17.1.2010

I bought this microscope as my 5 year old son had expressed an interest in one. As he is only little I did not want to spend a fortune on anything expensive. I have to say for the price I am amazed at the quality of it. It is made of nice chunky non slip plastic and comes with a stand, 2 slides and a lens cleaning cloth. I read previous reviews of this and as the majority were favourable ( there was one bad one which appears to have been removed) I am glad I was swayed to buy it.It is a manageable size for small hands and once focused you can clearly see the samples you are looking at. It had a little light (battery included) a zoom and a focus ring. It is great value for the money.We have had lots of fun looking at hair, skin cells and bits of agate.It would be really handy if the manufacturers would produce pre prepared slides as my kids would love them. A great inexpensive present for any curious child. I will be buying more for gifts.
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