I had a microscope as a kid, and used it often. I’d look at hairs, bugs, scabs, feathers, and pretty much anything else I could think of. For a long time I kept waiting for someone to injure themselves and bleed so I could look at the blood under my microscope, but no such luck. Later I found out that it wouldn’t have done me any good, my microscope being too weak to see blood cells. The microscope set I had came with several prepared slides, and my parents also bought me an additional set of prepared slides. It also came with specimen vials, one containing a large bee and the other a big tadpole. Yes, a scalpel was included for dissecting. Oh, the memories!
When I was in middle school we moved out to the country and had a big pond. I loved looking at the pond water under the microscope to see tiny creatures living in the water. Also tadpole eggs and fish scales. The microscope was one of those things that I’d use heavily for weeks at a time, ignore for a year or so, and then drag back out.
I’ve been trying to find a decent microscope set for my own kids, but the one we have is total crap. My goal is to find a good one by summer. It would go great with the “Disgusting Science” kit my daughter has, which came with petri dishes and stuff to grow your own bacteria. Maybe we’re nerds, but we have fun! So there!