Learning Resources Zoomy Handheld Digital Microscope
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Meet Zoomy! This is my kids newest obsession.
The Zoomy Handheld Digital Microscope from Learning Resources is absolutely amazing. In fact once we opened the packaging we stopped everything we were doing for the rest of the day and played with it! In fact my kids had a bit of a fit over going to bed and having to put our Zoomy away.
It has been amazing to use in the classroom because as you see it is a small handheld microscope. You just plug it into your PC or Mac, download the software, and start using it!
I will note that we had an issue inserting the software CD into our Mac because of the size of the CD but we just visited the product page on Learning Resources and downloaded the software there.
On the top of the handheld microscope which is an egg shape for easy grasping is a picture button (designated with a camera symbol) as well as a focus function (just twist the top of the “egg” to focus). The images we snapped pictures of and saw on our computer through the microscope were stunning.
I absolutely could not believe how crisp and detailed the images were for such a smaller inexpensive microscope. I love that you can also display the images up on the smartboard or now!Board as well for the entire classroom to see it better.
My 5 year old had no problems using the Zoomy himself, and even my 3 year old could use it (although he didn’t seem to understand the difference between it being a fuzzy image or clear image for focusing).
We looked at everything. My kids practically tore our basement apart bringing items over to the Zoomy. In the kindergarten classroom at school their first project was using it to clearly see the different between different textiles.
Above you can see the Zoomy microscope on my son’s hair and then the image on the Mac. Just press the camera button on the top of the Zoomy and you’ve stored the image onto your computer!
And you know my son had to drag our animals over and see how animal hair looked different from his own hair!
Looking at the images in the software program and while using the Zoomy were absolutely crystal clear! I transferred the files over to my PC and a few were a bit fuzzy (but still recognizable). ALL of the images below were transferred onto my PC and left unedited.
So make sure you notice the detail and clarity – then know it was even BETTER than that using the actual software program with the Zoomy.
Can you name the items below?
1. fingerprint
2. pencil eraser
3. cat hair
4. seashell
5. pencil tip
6. bug found in basement
7. ? key on Mac laptop
8. the shirt I wore that day
9. a tennis ball
What about these images below?
10. coral
11. an old dried out leaf
12. my son’s lips
13. a spider from our basement
14. a Post-it Note
15. Playfoam
I was so incredibly impressed. Not only was the Zoomy Handheld Digital Microscope super easy  to use at home with my kids, it was fantastic at our school in the classrooms as well. One thing I love about the technology products I’ve used from Learning Resources is that’s it’s incredibly user-friendly and pretty dummy proof.
There’s not much you can do to screw up setting up these products. The Zoomy seems pretty sturdy although I don’t suggest throwing it! It’s a large egg shape which makes it particularly nice for small children or special needs students with muscle control or grasping issues.
Price-wise it’s fantastic. I’ve seen Zoomy anywhere from $40-$60 – it is worth every penny. I even spotted it in this month’s Parenting Magazine in reference to technology in the classroom.
In fact it’s so inexpensive I think every preschool, classroom, and home should have one! I know that’s a bit of a stretch but all your kids have to do is plug it in and they will be busy for hours exploring things. It’s easier to use than a traditional microscope (especially for younger ages) and of course more people can view it at once which opens up for more detailed discussion.
We took oodles of photos with our Zoomy! You can also purchase Zoomy on Amazon.
Disclosure: I received the above product to use in order to form my own opinions. All opinions are my own.
That looks so cool, I just added it to our Amazon wishlist for my daughter’s birthday!
oh my goodness, my boys would completely flip over this handheld digital microscope! That is brilliant! I love it! It would make science exploration a lot of fun! this is going on the birthday “want” list!!
How neat is this?! My kids are at the age where they love learning what everything is made of and what it looks like up close. I’ll be sure to add this to their wish lists.
That is pretty cool! I can see my kids liking that… even the teens!
I was able to figure out what a few of your pics were but the others… no clue!
WOW! This is super cool!
Shoot, I’d buy that just to be able to make those fun puzzle pics. That gadget is neato!
This is a product our son would love, Thanks for sharing:)
Okay, now this is just too cool! I’ve gotta get my nephew one of these – he would flip out! How fun!
WOW!!! That is very cool! I never would have heard f this without reading this blog post. thanks for sharing it with us!!
OMG!! I love this!!! Getting this for my son for his birthday now! THANKS!!!
They say it works on Macs but not if you have one that is remotely current. It will not work on OSX. We bought it and could only use it for about a week before we upgraded our software and it became useless.
They never offered any updates to the software.
We have an OSX and ours works perfectly! I highly recommend calling Learning Resources as there is an extra step on the OSX but once you get it set up there are no glitches and everything works great!
Don’t know if you’re still monitoring this blog. But I just got a Zoomy and can’t find on the website where to download the software for a Mac. Any ideas?
Go to their website and look under Downloadable Samples: http://www.learningresources.com/product/zoomy–8482-+handheld+digital+microscope.do?from=Search&cx=0