Microscopes are crucial pieces of scientific equipment and play a huge role in uncovering new discoveries, creating amazing new substances, and allowing us to obtain a better understanding of the world around us. Learning how to use your microscope properly starts with learning the parts – so, without further ado, let’s get started!
Tutorial Video
Step-By-Step Images and Instructions
1.

Grab a pencil and a ruler, and draw a vertical line right down the center of your page. Then, add a horizontal line running across the bottom of this, just above the bottom of the page.
2.

Add another short horizontal line above the one you have created, and connect these two with two short marks at either end.
3.

Use the ruler to bring lines up at the edges of the top line, and connect these to create a long, thin rectangle.
4.

Bring a line across to the left from the left end, and then a vertical line up from the end of this. Add a parallel line to the right, and then take this to the right, and use a diagonal line to connect this to the top of the rectangle.
5.

Add another long, very thin rectangle on top of the one you have drawn…
6.

And then repeat this shape just above the first. Connect the two thin rectangles with sort vertical lines.
7.

Bring slightly angled lines up from the top of this, and connect them at the top with two horizontal lines, placed close together.
8.

Add another, slightly longer rectangle to the top of this, and then another, slightly larger, above.
9.

Leave a slight gap, with two short, vertical marks at the ends, and then add another, larger thin rectangle.
10.

Return to the section at the left, and use the pencil and ruler to draw two vertical rectangles on the right line. Take the top line across to meet the shape in the middle, and then down slightly, across at an angle, and then down, again at an angle, to meet the shape at the bottom.
11.

Take two diagonal, parallel lines up towards the top right-hand corner of the page, extending the top one slightly further than the bottom.
12.

Add two short marks to the top of the central rectangle, and then add another rectangle to the top of this, this time adding a “corner” on the left side.
13.

Bring two lines up from the top…
14.

And then add a curved shape, with a rectangle on the top and a line across the bottom, just below the center of this new section.
15.

Add a rectangle to the top, two parallel, vertical lines, and then another rectangle.
16.

Bring a line heading up to the left from the top left corner, connecting to the section above it, and then two parallel, diagonal lines heading to the top right corner. Make the top line slightly longer than the bottom.
17.

Now, add two more rectangles below this, the top one smaller than the bottom…
18.

And then add rectangles to the bottom of this, decreasing in size.
19.

Add another of these shapes to the right of the one you have just drawn.
20.

Connect the end of the right shape to the top with a straight line, and add a rectangle to the bottom of the diagonal line.
21.

Connect the ends of the diagonal line together…
22.

And then add another set of rectangles to the top – one large, one thin, and one tall.
23.

Add another rectangle around halfway up the one you have just created, and then another in the bottom rectangle. Inside this smaller one, add a circle on the left, and a short line on the right.
24.

Now, grab a drawing compass, and add two circles to the left section – one smaller, and the bottom one larger.
25.

Use the ruler to draw two arrows, one up and one down, above the horizontal section to the right of this, and add an arrowhead to the central line, just below the lens of the microscope. Add two more arrowheads to the diagonal line at the top.
26.

Now, use the ruler to draw a series of horizontal lines all around the outside of the microscope. Add a curved line emerging from the right lens, curving down and across, and add an arrowhead to the end of this.
27.

Grab a black fineliner pen and carefully go over all of the lines of the microscope, adding double lines to all the arrows.
28.

Use a yellow pen to shade the large central sections, and color the arrows in this section with an orange pen. Then, use the black fineliner pen to add labels all around the microscope, on the horizontal lines. From the bottom left corner: On/Off Switch, Base, Coarse Focus, Fine Focus, Arm, Diopter Adjustment, Eyepiece / Ocular Lens, Revolving Nose Piece, Objective Lens, Slide Holder, Slide, Stage, Condenser, Iris Diaphragm, Light Source.
Now take an eraser and remove all the pencil marks.
29.

Now, grab a brown pen. Shade the circles on the left, the larger of all the long, thin rectangles in the central section, and the very top section.
30.

Use a gray pen to shade the remaining body of the microscope…
31.

And then shade the remaining arrows with a bright blue pen. Use the same color for the central rectangle, between the two brown sections.
32.

Grab the ruler and black pen, and connect all of the labels to the relevant parts of the microscope.
And there we have it – your first foray into one of the most important pieces of scientific equipment that you need to know about – here, the real fun and exploration can begin!