I love STEM toys, those which encourage Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Children are naturally inquisitive and there are some amazing toys to encourage them to continue their learning at home. My daughter was recently given a microscope for her birthday. It was a lovely, thoughtful gift, but quite basic. So we were delighted to receive the Zoomy 2.0 Handheld Digital Microscope from Learning Resources to review.
Zoomy 2.0 Handheld Digital Microscope
The Zoomy 2.0 Handheld Digital Microscope is a compact, handheld digital microscope which is easy for young children to use. It is aimed at ages 4-8 years and gives early scientific study a whole new perspective.
STEM toys are educational toys that encourage kids to use their brains whilst playing. They are brilliant for stimulating the development of motor skills, lateral thinking and problem solving, which are essential in this day and age. Both my children love their STEM toys and I love the fact they’re learning whilst having fun! Microscopes are the perfect STEM toy – helping them see objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye and teaching children just how awesome a strand of hair or a grain of sugar is.
What’s inside the box?
Inside the box you will find the Zoomy 2.0 Handheld Digital Microscope, an installation CD, instruction booklet and two head adaptors. The microscope is both Windows and MAC accessible. My 7 year old has his own HP laptop so he loves the fact he’s able to use it on that. We also have a MacBook Air, so I’m pleased we can use it on both.
Features of the Zoomy 2.0 Handheld Digital Microscope
The microscope measures 6.5cm H x 6.5cm W and is the perfect size for small hands. It has up to 54x magnification which allows users to analyse the structure of items found around the classroom and home. You can use it with a computer, laptop or projector interactive whiteboard via USB at school, after school clubs or at home.
It features 640 x 480 pixels, a VGA CMOS sensor and 4 LED lights. The 2 head adaptors ensure you keep the perfect distance from the object you are looking at.
What did we think?
Both my children are the perfect age for this handheld digital microscope and have been having so much fun with it. They love the fact the cable is quite long, which means one of them can take it and look at something whilst the other one can see it on the screen of the laptop. They have been busy examining all kinds of things from candy canes, to sugar, lego bricks and the Christmas tree.
It is a great tool for exploring the world around them. I like the fact you can capture the images as a still or video, which is great for saving for later.
The Zoomy 2.0 Handheld Digital Microscope is priced at £54.00 and you can find out more from the Learning Resources website.
Disclosure – this post is written in collaboration with Learning Resources.
Oh I bet my son would love that too! We’ve had some toys from Learning Resources before and I love the way they are really educational while still being fun.
Wow, this is so cool! I would have loved something like this when I was younger, I always wanted a microscope.
I have a very inquisitive nephew who would absolutely love this as a gift! Thank you for the review. I think I’ll get it for him for his birthday in March. He’s always examining things, finding out how they work and what they’re made of, so this is right up his street.