ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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Hi Everyone -
Jody Ostrander of the Utah Science Center and I have been continuing the conversation about my daughter's science fair project -- although she constructed her own incubator, we incubated the plates within a biomedical research lab.
Jody had some great comments about science centers adequately informing our visitors of the risks of growing microbes at home. Although microbes cultured from having a petri dish opened to the general environment to catch whatever happens to land is generally not risky for healthy people, more serious issues arise when folks start swabbing and culturing specimens from the bathroom etc. As mentioned by a listserv reader earlier, the potential for pathogenicity shouldn't be overlooked. We should be ready to help visitors understand this risk and also help them to learn proper disposal techniques.
All this germ talk reminds me of the sign near the waterless hand-sanitizer in my kids' pediatrician's waiting area -- "Take a squirt for germ-free goodness". Just thinking about it cracks me up!
There's another variable to test -- the effectiveness of alcohol-based hand-sanitizers vs good ol' handwashing...
Kim
Kimberly Collison
Health and Life Sciences Coordinator
417-862-9910 x709
Discovery Center of Springfield
438 E St Louis Street
Springfield MO 65806
www.discoverycenter.org
-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Daniels, Alissa
Sent: Friday, March 07, 2008 2:19 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: petri dish fun
ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
*****************************************************************************
Thank you all so much for your suggestions! I'm sure I'll be able to try some version of my experiment.
I've said it before, but I love museum folk because everyone shares. Other industries keep secrets or are generally close-mouthed, and I really enjoy that we crazy museum people are so willing to share successes, failures and general useful advice.
thanks all,
AD
>
>>
>>
>>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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