Omegon® Experiment Set
Chemicals and dangerous liquids should be kept from children! Do not
eat or drink the chemicals. After use, please wash hands thoroughly.
This kit contains sharp tools. Use only with adult supervision!
1. Textile Sample; 2. Dry Shrimp; 3. Sea Salt;
4. Shrimp Eggs; 5. Empty bottle; 6. Magnifier;
7. Butterfly wing; 8. Cover glasses; 9. Blank labels;
10. Honey Bee; 11. Gum Media; 12. Yeast;
13. Hatchert ; 14. Scalpel; 15. Dissecting needle;
16. Twezeers; 17. Pipette; 18. Blank Slides.
Congratulation on the purchase of the new Omegon® Experiment Set. This set
includes the following items:
Reproduction of part or all of the contents of this document in any form is
expressly prohibited other than for individual use only.
All text, images and labels are property of Nimax Gmbh.
There two kinds of objects. Objects that reflect light (opaque) and objects that
let the light go through (transparent). Opaque objects can be observed using a
loupe while transparent objects by using a microscope.
Usually the magnifier can only produce a very small amount of magnification
(3x to 10x) while a microscope reaches far more magnification (40x to 400x).
For that reason the level of detail that can be seen is quite different. An object
seen through a magnifier can be much more interesting when seen through a
microscope. Below are some techniques that can be used to obtain the best of
a sample.
Caution: Children should perform these preparations under adult supervision only!
Turning an opaque object into a transparent one
As mentioned before with a microscope one can see much more details as with
a magnifier. To use a microscope one needs however a transparent object. An
opaque object can be turned into a transparent one by cutting a slice (sample)
so thin that the light can pass through.
The wax technique
For some soft objects a straight thin cut is difficult to do. There is a technique
that allows to harden the object in order to get a thin slice (transparent). Start
by melting a portion of candle wax in a pan. It should be enough to dip the
sample in it. Grab the sample on one end and dip slowly so that the wax covers
the sample. Then remove it slowly. Let it dry. The wax layer will get hard as it
cools down. Now repeat the procedure to get another coat of wax on top of
the previous one. Repeat again until you get about 3 to 4 layers of wax. The
wax creates a hard surface and allows to cut a sample from the soft object. The
sample can be placed on a sample holder and covered with a slide glass.
How to make preparations? There are two kinds of preparations – permanent
and non-permanent.
Permanent preparations
These are done when a sample is to be repeatedly observed. The sample
should be dried before set to the slide. A Fly’s leg is dry and does not need to
Reproduction of part or all of the contents of this document in any form is
expressly prohibited other than for individual use only.
All text, images and labels are property of Nimax Gmbh.
go through a dehydration process. But for example a sample of potato needs
to be dried first.
Short term preparations
these are used when a sample is to be observed for a short time and then can
be disposed. These are done for objects easy to find and prepare. Humid
objects are usually easier to prepare and should be use d for short term
preparations. Place the sample on the object holder and put the cover glass on
top of it.
There is a third option. For liquids (like water from a pond) just use the
supplied pipette to get the sample and place a small drop on the blank slide.
Let it dry and then observe it with the microscope.
Here are some experiments you can do
1. Sea Salt crystals
Use the supplied Sea Salt bottle. Put a few Sea Slat crystals on a blank slide.
Observe through the microscope. You will see the crystals have a cubic shape
and they all have about the same size and shape.
2. Onion epidermal sample
Onions consist of multiple layers on top of each other. There are two surfaces,
the rough inner surface and the shine out surface. This is the surface that we
are interested in. Remove the outer brownish skin from the onion and cut the
onion in two halves (from top to root). Remove the first couple of layers to
insure a fresh onion sample. Now you have a bowl shaped onion layer. Bend it
outwards until it breaks. You will see a small transparent film holding the two
halves. Peel it. This is the epidermal layer we are interested in. Cut a small
portion of the epidermal layer and place it on the blank slide. To increase
contrast we recommend putting a small drop of iodine on top. The iodine
increases contrast. Now place the glass cover on top and let the Iodine flow on
the sample surface. You are ready to use the sample. Please notice iodine is
not included.
Reproduction of part or all of the contents of this document in any form is
expressly prohibited other than for individual use only.
All text, images and labels are property of Nimax Gmbh.
3. Sea water shrimps
Sea shrimps are very particular animals. They live u nder extreme conditions in
salt lakes. When the lake dries off the shrimp eggs can survive up to 10 years in
a dormant state until better conditions come back. The eggs are very special
and have a special protective coating that allows them to withstand hard
environmental conditions. Once put back in sea water the eggs hatch. Shrimp
larvae need to be fed to grow and turn into healthy shrimp adults. We have
included a small bottle with yeast to feed the shrimps.
How to hatch the shrimp eggs? We need to create a saline solution (sea water
media) so the eggs can hatch. Use a container able to hold at least ½ litre of
water. Pour some rain water to the container. It should be a little more than
half a litre because of evaporation. Let the water rest for 24 hours. Put the
container inside home were the temperature is stable and not too cold. Place
half of the supplied salt in the water and stir so is dilutes easily. Now place the
eggs and stir. The eggs take approximately 3 days to hatch. Remember to keep
the container inside in a mild temperature (25 degrees) and let it get some
light (but not direct sun light). Mark the water level. Make sure if the water
evaporates to refill the container to its original water level. You can use the
supplied hatchery. Place some of the liquid into one of the compartments and
observe. After three days the eggs hatch. It is time to take care of this new
generation of shrimps. Use the pipette to observe the eggs and the larvae. It is
interesting to see how these develop. Place a drop of water with some larvae
on the blank slide and observe. Each day you will see some slight changes as
their bodies develop from larvae into an adult form. A generations takes about
10 weeks to reach adulthood. They will keep on reproduc ing if the conditions
are favourable.
How to feed the shrimps?
Shrimps are resistant but they need to be kept fed and in good environmental
conditions. Too much food with kill them, too little to. Use the supplied yeast
to feed the shrimps. It is enough to feed them just a little every two days. If the
water starts to get dark move your shrimps to a new saline solution as
mentioned before.
Reproduction of part or all of the contents of this document in any form is
expressly prohibited other than for individual use only.
All text, images and labels are property of Nimax Gmbh.
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