Have you ever wondered what microorganism grows in a culture media if you swab your skin? We did just that! We collected our own samples by rolling a swab on our arms. We then inoculated culture media plates using the swabs.
Ideally, we should have used a sterile swab to make sure that we won’t get any contaminants in our culture. But, this experiment was meant as an introduction. A way to encourage our little one to love science. Something that will spark interest.
This experiment is also a good way for parents to reinforce how important it is that we follow good hygiene. Through this we can teach our kids that there are living organisms that exist but are invisible to our eyes. Some organisms are helpful to our body but some are pathogenic. Thus, hand washing is extremely important.
Materials used:
1. Regular Q-tips or Sterile Swabs
2. Sterile culture media
Our samples were taken from:
1. Frequently touch surfaces like door knobs, refrigerator door handle, etc. (Environmental)
2. Skin (Biological)
Observation after few days:
We saw some growth on the plates. The colonies that grew in the culture plates were varied. This experiment made Esperanza see what is normally invisible to her eyes.
Prepared culture media can be purchased at:
Sterile swab for sampling can be purchased at:
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MIXED KNOT 