Some time ago I mentioned to my partner that I've always wanted a microscope as a hobby ๐ฌ they saved some money and got a cheap one for me recently, and I'm having so much fun!
Pictured is the thin peel that's intimate with the garlic clove, stained with eosin (I think) and magnified x1200. It's great because it's already 1 cell thick ๐ค
What are some tips you guys have for a beginner? I'm looking into buying methylene blue for staining too.
Barking up a completely different tree than most comments here, it might be interesting to look at some electronics, like the inside of some integrated circuits. This would be a whole process and require a lot of nasty chemicals (nitric acid is particularly dangerous) though. This is probably a bad idea actually.
Many of them you can just very carefully sand the lid off. Often there's fun doodles!