I have seen a lot of posts from biology teachers wondering if it’s safe to use microscopes if teaching in person this year. Having kids share microscopes when their eyes come in close contact with the ocular lens does not seem like a wise idea since the eye is a potential route of infection.
Rather than forego use of the microscope in class this year, I was trying to think of ways to make them safer to use. Sanitizing the oculars after each student use is an option, but could damage the rubber around the lenses, or potentially damage the lenses themselves. I was in my classroom today and decided to try a simple fix – placing a disposable sandwich bag over the oculars. It worked great – see the setup below:
I was able to easily see and focus in on slides with the bag over the oculars, and I even took a photo through the bag with my camera – see below:
I figure that students can simply remove the bag and dispose of it after use, and the next student can put a fresh bag over the lenses. The focus knobs and slide stage can be sanitized easily between use as well, or if you can find them for a reasonable price, require use of disposable rubber gloves while working with the scope (or maybe something as simple and cheap as these disposable gloves).
Hope you find this helpful!