My daughter has been learning a lot of things about microscopes in first grade this year and she spends a lot of time gathering different materials to bring home and look at under our microscope at home. I love her curiosity but have been finding it hard to keep up with her collection without the house being full of little bits of nature ending up on every surface. Enter this pocket microscope. Now my little scientist is able to bring the magic of magnification everywhere she goes. This is her favorite hiking accessory and she doesn't leave home without it. She's getting so much out of this little scope that my only regret is not getting one sooner. The magnification is good, the image is sharp and clear, and the light does a pretty good job of making things visible. The added slides were a nice touch but we don't really use them and I don't think that's the kind of application that this product excels at. In a pinch it's fine with slides but it doesn't compare to the much bulkier microscope at home, of course. Where this thing excels is at being an excellent product with so much more versatility in terms of being able to look at things we just can't (or don't want to) bring home. The price is such a good deal, too. I think every child would enjoy and benefit from having one themselves.