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Hey Great Suggestions Fred.  And it's the ExploraBook, 1992 that has  
the bacteria activities.  You can get it at Amazon.
C
On Mar 6, 2008, at 9:41 AM, Fred Stein wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology  
> Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related  
> institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
>
> Hi Allisa,
>
> A good resource for doing this is described in a chapter from  
> Microcosmos: A curriculum guide to exploring microbial space. I  
> think Heinneman publishes it.
> Jenny Stricker's chapter called Microbial Jello describes how to  
> make and pour your own agar (for cultutring many different criiters)  
> and to teach kids sterile technique.
>
> The easiest way to do it yourself is to order pre-poured nutrient  
> agar plates from Carolina Biological . The simplest do it yourself  
> recipe is to mix some broth or a boullion cube in with unflavored  
> geletin and boil it or pressure cook it, then pour it into petri  
> dishes and let set overnight.
>
> When the kids (or you) test hand washing vs not washing, also label  
> a control plate so you can compare all three.
> You can let them grow in a dry, dark place (like a desk drawer) a  
> room temp for about a week and should get wonderfully nasty results!
>
> Contact me offline if you want to talk this through.
>
> Fred
> Fred Stein
> Science Educator
> Exploratorium Institute for Inquiry
> 3601 Lyon St.
> San Francisco, CA 94123
> (415) 561-0332
> fax (415) 561-0307
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
> On Mar 6, 2008, at 9:25 AM, Daniels, Alissa wrote:
>
>> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology  
>> Centers
>> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related  
>> institutions.
>> *****************************************************************************
>>
>> So we're doing a program on handwashing, and I'd like to try  
>> growing out some petri dishes with samples from pre and post-washed  
>> hands. I don't have a proper incubator and am not willing/able to  
>> buy one, and am looking for alternatives--a warm window, a toaster  
>> oven, the top of a toaster oven.... Anything else that will give me  
>> some measure of success.
>>
>> Any other tips or suggestions are also welcome, as I haven't done  
>> this since my freshman year of college (ie, a while ago) when we  
>> ran around with Q-tips and swabbed bathrooms, keyboards and  
>> anything else we could get at...
>>
>> thanks,
>> AD
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> Alissa Daniels, Science Program Manager
>> Boston Children's Museum
>> 617-426-6500 x342
>> www.BostonChildrensMuseum.org
>> The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds  
>> new discoveries, is not "Eureka!" (I found it!) but "That's  
>> funny..."   --Isaac Asimov
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>>
>>
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>
>
>
>
> ***********************************************************************
> For information about the Association of Science-Technology Centers  
> and the Informal Science Education Network please visit www.astc.org.
>
> Check out the latest case studies and reviews on ExhibitFiles at www.exhibitfiles.org 
> .
>
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Charles Carlson
Director of Life Sciences
exploratorium
3601 Lyon St.
San Francisco, CA 94123
[log in to unmask]
Tel:   415-561-0319
Fax:  415-561-0370



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