Our pet microbes

I am a member of the first completely distance class offered in Microbiology through University of Alaska Southeast. Thus far, I have taken two anatomy and physiology classes via this campus, which involved all lab supplies being sent directly to our home, including dissection specimens such as a sheep's eye, brain, heart, and kidney, a fetal pig, and other parts. When I learned that Micro was also being offered without the in-person component in Sitka, I jumped at the chance, and within a week of enrolling, a customary USPS priority mail box showed up on our porch complete with agar plates (petri dishes), broth tubes, and other materials. Here are some pictures of my current projects:



Truth be told, if I knew then what I know now, I would have opted to do this class in person. It has been daunting to try to set up a decent lab in our little house without freaking out about contamination, etc. I am using proper safety precautions, and frankly, am being exposed to more familiar microbes than I would be in an on-campus lab, but I am still not as equipped as I want to be. Good news: culturing our dining room table resulted in only a speckle or two of colonies, and nothing too insidious. I'm tempted to start dabbing everything with a sterile q-tip and rubbing it on some agar, just to see what happens.

Also, this has resulted in some great teaching moments between me and the kids. The two jars above house Saccharomyces cerevisiae, common bread yeast, which led to some in depth discussion about how yeast makes bread rise. I'm tempted to whip up a batch of kombucha tea in all of its slimy yumminess. We also have enjoyed making sourdough bread in the past. It might be time for another pet sourdough starter for the fridge. Gotta love these non-pet pets. :)