How Do I Handle Biology Labs? Part 1
Great question.
Most biology textbooks start with the microscopic world and work upward. That is a good way to structure lab experiments as well. A good quality microscope (doesn’t have to be expensive but you will have to outlay some money) is a must. Making your own slides can be a rewarding but frustrating experience so I suggest using pre-made slides as well as making your own. You can buy prepared slides very easily over the Internet. If money is a real issue, you might be able to borrow a microscope or have a field trip to a state park that sets-up microscopes in their nature center.
Also, the Internet has a wide variety of beautiful microscopic pictures available. There is not one centralized website, though, so I have found if you search for the genus and species name of the organisms in your biology book, you will be led to sites with beautiful microscopic pictures. Even if you have a microscope you should do this because often the pictures on the web can be much more detailed than what you can see in your microscope at home.