1318 Activity Guide Final 03/12/2002 04:19 PM Page 1 Having fun--letting your imagination soar Digital Blue QX3 Computer Microscope TM TM Welcome to the microscopic world. With your QX3 microscope, you are limited only by your imagination. TM What you can do The QX3TM microscope lets you do many things you can't do with an ordinary microscope: See tiny things on your computer. Take the microscope off its base stand for magnified viewing. Combine and create new things using computer tools. Build a collection of your discoveries and creations. Produce your own movies and slide shows. Watch out, Kids! An adult should set up and install hardware and software. Also, only an adult should replace the light bulbs. Group activities Another great thing about the QX3TM microscope is that you and your friends can play with it together. You can even create slide shows together to amaze your family and friends. Fun Stuff To Do Having fun What you can do .......................... 1 Group activities ............................ 1 Starting out right, and seeing the light Button basics............................... 2 Lighting ........................................ 2 Digital BlueTM QX3TM controls ......... 3 Getting the goods and taking a look Collecting specimens................... 4 Live View ......................................4 Magnifying ................................... 5 Using handheld mode.................. 6 Making movies............................. 7 Making a time lapse movie .......... 8 Hungering for more? Investigating Main and beyond....10 Using paint tools ..........................11 Adding special effects .................13 Making a slide show....................14 Printing stuff ................................16 Here are a few things you can do to get started. A50133-001 Y O U R A C T I V I T Y B O O K 1 1318 Activity Guide Final 03/12/2002 04:19 PM Page 2 Starting out right, and seeing the light Basic buttons Live view button Go to Live View from Main to view and add samples to your collection. buttons, lights and controls The QX3 software is easy and fun to use. Usually, you just choose an activity from Main and use the tools. Button basics Use the software by clicking on buttons and using tools. You will see different buttons on different screens. Audio Help is always there if you need it. TM Using the right light Use the bottom light to shine up through transparent and very thin samples, like feathers, slices of vegetables, or onion skin. The light in the detachable microscope illuminates objects that are too large or heavy to be placed on the microscope's sample platform. You can also use the microscope on the stand to view small solid objects and living specimens with top lighting. You can put a bug or a slug in the containment dish with lid to look at, take magnified snapshots, or make short movies. Main button Go to Main, which lets you choose fun things to do with your pictures and movies. Lighting The microscope light turns on automatically when you enter Live View, and turns off when you go to Main. OK button Continue your action. This button usually appears with the Cancel button. Getting help You can get help by clicking Audio Help. It is in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. If you pause over buttons, you will hear their names and how to use them. You may want more information than Audio Help provides. If so, press F1 for Online Help. Lighting controls You control the lights in Live View with the Lighting Controls on the screen. Click the top bulb to use top lighting. Click the bottom bulb to shine light up through the sample platform. Moving the slider up makes your sample look brighter. Moving it down makes your sample less bright. Experiment to find what works best with your samples. When you remove the microscope from the base, the top light comes on automatically. Cancel button Cancel your action. This button usually appears when you enter special scenes, like the show editing window and when you quit the software. Adding light Ordinary household light works fine with the QX3TM microscope. You may want to place a high-intensity desk lamp near the microscope to add to top lighting when using medium or high magnification. Quitting the software Quit button Quit the QX3TM software. You need to go to Main to quit. To quit, you should click the Quit button on Main. This way you can click the Cancel button to continue playing if you change your mind about quitting. (The Cancel button is on the right in the picture below.) ng ooki ! sl Ear' u, kid o at y 2 1318 Activity Guide Final 03/12/2002 04:19 PM Page 3 Y O U R A C T I V I T Y B O O K Digital Blue QX3 Controls TM TM Changing magnification Gemstones at high magnification Choose the magnification by rotating the ring on the microscope until the label for the desired level faces you. You will hear a click when the lens is in place. The levels are approximately 10x, 60x and 200X*. In this activity book, we refer to magnification as low, medium, or high. Think of sizes this way: Low shows an area like the head of a thumbtack. Medium shows a pinhead. High shows an area the size of a pencil tip! Once an adult has set up the QX3TM microscope, you can use the controls to: Capture pictures or movies (in handheld mode). 1 2 Use low magnification and top lighting to look at things you can't see through, like coins, hair or paper. Medium or high magnification may make the image too big. Or you may need extra light. HINT: Change magnification level. 3 Focus. Capturing pictures and movies in handheld mode In handheld mode, click the Capture button to take a picture. Click and hold the button to capture a movie. If the Time Lapse controls are showing, you can make a timelapse video in handheld mode, but once you release the button on the microscope your time lapse will stop recording. Focusing Adjust the control knob until the image is clear. Focusing may take a little practice. On some computers, there may be a delay between your moving the knob and the image changing on the screen. Try making small adjustments and wait for the screen to catch up. Watch out, Kids! Before you use extra light, check with your parents to make sure you've got a safe light. You don't want to use a lamp with a halogen or other extra-hot bulb that could cause bad burns. Frunobulax, the fly that walks on two legs *These magnification levels are approximate and have been measured using a 15 in. (38 cm.) monitor. Actual magnification will vary according to size of your monitor. buttons, lights and controls -- Digital BlueTM QX3TM controls 3 1318 Activity Guide Final 03/12/2002 04:19 PM Page 4 Getting the goods and taking a look collecting and viewing Sample jar 3 4 1 Tweezers Containment dish Your Digital Blue QX3 Computer Microscope comes with accessories to get you started. Live View Replacing your accessories If you lose the tweezers or eyedroppers, you can find good plastic replacements at a nearby variety store, toy store, or hobby shop. Your parents can also order replacements from Prime Entertainment by checking in the Parent Quick Start Guide. When the QX3TM software starts you're in Live View. Here you can look at things you've collected and take pictures and movies to save in your collection. Above is a picture of some gemstones at low magnification in Live View. TM Eyedropper 5 2 Sample slide Slide clip 6 Collecting specimens When you're hunting bugs and other stuff you want to look at, you can use the sample jars to hold them and keep them from getting away. You can also use film canisters, small plastic jars with lids, the plastic boxes nails and screws come in, and other small containers you find around the house. For more information about the controls in Live View, press F1 for Online Help. Attaching and using the slide clip Use the slide clip to make sure your specimen stays in place on the microscope stage. Attach the slide clip to the microscope by placing the slide clip on top of the stage and snapping into place. Live View screen View samples on the sample platform or in handheld mode. Adjust lighting. Capture pictures and movies. Start a time-lapse movie. Go to Main. Handling yucky stuff You can use the tweezers included with your microscope to pick up bugs and slugs and worms and muddy junk and other things you don't want to touch with your fingers. What?! You like to pick up slugs and slimy stuff? Eeeu-oooo! Place your specimen slide on the stage and slide it underneath the clip arm to keep it still. 4 1318 Activity Guide Final 03/12/2002 04:19 PM Page 5 Y O U R A C T I V I T Y B O O K Magnifying Live View buttons Snapshot button Click this button to capture a picture of your sample. Clicking the Capture button on the microscope in handheld mode has the same effect. Record button Click this button to record a movie of your sample. Holding the Capture button on the microscope in handheld mode has the same effect. Trash can button Click this button to remove the last capture, shown in the preview window, from your collection. Time lapse button Click this button to see the time lapse controls. Your package contains sample slide to help you learn to use the controls on the Digital Blue QX3 Computer Microscope. These specimens include bug parts, textile fibers, pollens, spores and plant sections. TM Remember this-- Use top lighting and low magnification when looking at most solid objects. Use medium and high magnification for transparent things with bottom lighting. You also have two sample jars with lids with which to collect live bugs, flowers and other objects. High--hair ye, hair ye! Did you know that various hair colors and textures look different up close? There are lots of hair types: Blond Brown, brunette, or auburn Curly Gray, silver, or white Red Processed or "permed" Straight Low--quit bugging me! At low magnification, you can watch a bug in the contain-ment dish and see how it eats and behaves. And when you're done watching and recording the bug, you can release it back where you found it. TIP: We recommend using low magnification when in handheld mode. Medium--can you spare some change? Here's a coin at medium magnification. Look at common coins with your microscope still on the stand to get a close-up view. Paper money looks very different when you see it with your QX3TM microscope. What else is nearby? How about: Corn silk Jewelry Breakfast cereal That fuzzy stuff hanging from your sock! A housefly's head at medium magnification! See how many Wrapping paper types of hair Ribbons you can get Fabric from your Dust bunnies family and Photographs friends. Newspaper clippings Using high magnification and bottom lighting, look at the hairs with your microscope. You may be surprised by what you see. Can you see the differences among the types of hair? Does dyed hair look different from natural hair? TIP: Don't put your specimens directly on the microscope's sample platform. Use one of the containment dishes. If a sample won't fit in a containment dish, you can always look at it in handheld mode. collecting and viewing -- magnifying 5 1318 Activity Guide Final 03/12/2002 04:19 PM Page 6 Using handheld mode Remember this-- When using the microscope in handheld mode, don't pull on the cord that connects it to the computer. Putting too much strain on the cord can lead to trouble. Whenever you're done using the microscope in handheld mode, put it back in its cradle. Always use the microscope so that you've got a clear view of your computer monitor--so you can see what you're pointing at. You can use the Digital Blue QX3 Computer Microscope as a handheld TM Telling your left from your right In a regular microscope, images are reversed. The QX3TM microscope uses the software to flip the image so that when you move a slide on the sample platform to the right, the image on your monitor will also move to the right. To have this software feature work correctly in handheld mode, remember these three things: Hold the microscope with the magnification number facing you. Moving the microscope to the right is the same as moving a slide on the sample platform to the left. Moving the microscope toward you is the same as moving a slide on the sample platform away from you. magnifying glass. Some of the things you can look at are your nose, toes, and teeth. Your feet. The hair on your arm. The moon on your fingernail. The scab on your knee. Your bellybutton. Your fingerprints or your ear. Or, a flower. Use low magnification in handheld mode. If your hand shakes too much at medium and high magnification, the sample won't stay in focus, and there may not be enough light to get a good picture. If you ever get confused, you can click the Help button to hear Audio Help. A computer component board Knowing your limits The main things to remember when using your mi ...