Thanks for all the help on science and microscopes. I'm buying these to try out:

AmScope 40x-1000x All-metal Student Cordless LED Field Biological Microscope $90

Celestron Digital Microscope Imager $42

The best thing about the microscope, the price, is also what's making me leery, but the AmScope microscopes all seem to get high user ratings on Amazon. I guess I'll find out if I'm a patsy, or if a decent home student microscope is really available for under a hundred dollars now.

ETA: I might get this cheap Celestron instead, for $119:
Celestron 44104 500x Power Advanced Biological Microscope

Striving to increase my rate of flow, and fight forum gloopiness. sick