Learning Resources Zoomy Digital Microscope, Classroom Supplies, Ages 4+

I'd easy to use and the magnification is amazing. My students love to see the roots of their hair and the fibers of their clothes and beg often for me to attach it to my projector to continue to explore all kind of surfaces. I especially like to use it to show how a few grains of salt can make an egg stand on end, because the grains are actually little cubes.

I bought this years ago and tried it recently to use at a science fair. I downloaded the software from Learning Resources and works perfect! So amazing and can't believe it still works!

I am a Cub leader, used this on our Groups camp to explore nature around them, Cubs when hunting for weird and wonderful items to look at with Zoomy, they loved the detail it gave on the item, and it caused them to hunt harder, just so they could look again.

Does your child have an inquisitive mind? I know for a fact that some of them do and others just don't. The 'Learning Resources Zoomy 2.0' is the type of device that is perfect for the science mad kid, but would go down like a wet balloon to a child with no interest in the subject. Essentially, this is a neat bit of kit that allows you to plug and play a camera/microscope into your computer. The round look and feel means that it is easy to pick up and use with smaller hands. To zoom you twist the camera and you can get pretty deep; it is certainly easier than trying to use a microscope and you get the same effect. Another added feature by using the computer software is that you can take stills of what you are looking at and also mini movies. The quality of the camera is decent enough, but perhaps not the HD we are increasingly used to. As this is a tool for children to get into science at an affordable cost, this is not really an issue. You lose a little definition as you zoom to the extreme, but some tweaking with the focus and the quality is certainly of a high enough standard for a hobbyist. The Zoomy is essentially a web camera with added features and Windows treats it like this, when you plug it in you don't have to install from the CD as the drivers should automatically load. The software that comes on the disc is on the basic side, but this is in keeping with the age that the camera is aimed at, kids should be taking photos and making mini videos within minutes. Is the Zoomy fun? It depends on the child. I would have loved it as a kid as you can see the detail of what things are made up from, but for some children it will be like trying to bring the classroom home. There is not real attempt at making the use of the camera a game; the software could have tried doing something clever here. However, for the right child the power of the microscope alone will be enjoyment.

I found this in my teachers cupboard, it works very well! I've been using this to look at sand, and they loooove seeing what sand is actually made of. It has a very high magnification, and the light is perfect. Easy to use, works on both my mac and pc with minimal setup.

Really nice and helpful, easy to use and to install. Only problem was no linux software also we need to have windows

The download of your Mac SW will not run on the latest Mac OS by far. The manual says it's compatible with Mac OS 10.11.x which was released in July 2015 with the last dot release July 2016. That's 4 to 5 year old OS is the latest?!? Really unacceptable to advertise it as Mac compatible if it's so horribly out of date. Ruined a birthday present.

The software works great for the built-in camera, but doesn't recognize this one. Windows doesn't even know that it is a camera, it just puts it under "other devices". I tried using it with AMCap, but that didn't work either. (AMCap worked great until it was bought out by someone else). Maybe you just need an older version of AMCap.

The Zoomy 2.0 looks as if it would be a wonderful product, but the software installation requires the use of a CD. If you don't have access to this feature is your device(s) (as many do not now for quite some time), DO NOT PURCHASE THIS ITEM!! As always, do your research before purchasing.

I tried connecting this to my desktop and laptop, I can not get it to work with either. Any help would be greatly appreciated.