Cells
In our school district, kids learn about cells in 5th grade. However, there is a big difference in seeing pictures of cells in text books and actually seeing cells under a microscope!
Here are some cells that I might recommend examining. My favorite is the Amoeba (Vitachrome stained) from Carolina Biological. Yes, it is worth ordering it because it moves and you can make awesome time lapse movies (see below). It shows the behavior of a single cell. The reliable “standard” is the red onion from the grocery store. No movement of these cells, but it illustrates that large tissues (an onion, or human organs) are made of repeating units- cells. It is relatively easy to prepare the onion mount and you can easily see the cell boundaries (and even stain the nucleus in a more advanced exercise). If the movies below do not work, click here for help.
Red Onion Cells (The easiest)