Biology/growing samples
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Question
I teach 3rd grade and we want to take samples of keyboards, phones, door knobs, etc and try to grow bacteria in our petri dishes. We have the Knox gelatin, but you state beef boullion. Are your talking about the beef boullion cubes you buy or actually fresh beef and boil it for a broth? What process do you recommend then for taking the samples? I was told just use Q-tips to gather the samples.
Thanks so much. We are looking forward to seeing how infected our classroom is.
Hi william
Dissolve the bouillon cubes in the gelatin. The beef broth is needed for the food for the bacteria. Use sterile Q tips dipped first in boiled water. Wet tips will pick up bacteria better Take samples from the students hands. washed and unwashed. This will be more impressive. Do not let the children touch the bacteria colonies once the bacteria grow. Keep in touch with your results
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| Comment | Thank you so much for the information. We will start next week now collecting our samples. I was not told about the sterilizing the Q-Tip first and having it wet. Good suggestion. We were told to keep them in a dark place like a cabinet for about 2 weeks. We get a lot of science information/experiments off of Steve Spangler Science but sometimes it just isn't quite enough to be knowledgeable in front of the students. thanks again | ||
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Walter Hintz
Expertise
Science teacher for over 50 years. MSc. in biology. I can answer questions in general biology, zoology, botany, anatomy and physiology and biochemistry.
Experience
I have a MSc in biology and have been a science teacher for over 50 years. At present I am a faculty member at a college and a science consultant at seven catholic schools.
Publications
The Ohio journal of Science
Momentum-The Journal of the Catholic Education Association
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