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I am looking for a biology lab kit to use with my not-very-scientifically-minded 10th grader. I prefer secular, and I prefer labs that actually work (had some trouble with mistakes in Bridget Ardoin's chem labs last year). My basic curriculum is a self-created amalgam of secular resources. I have a B.S. in biology but lack natural talent for laboratory work and time for planning it. So, I am looking for a set of experiments that comes with a kit of supplies and reagents and such. And something not too challenging.

 

Any suggestions or experiences you can share? I will appreciate any input.

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My youngest is using Labpaq's LP-0051-BK-03 as I prefer the convenience of a kit. I would peg it as normal bio level, not honors level. He is using the Miller Levine text in iBook version as reference. I didn't expect proper high school style lab reports as he is not high school yet. He just use the guidelines in the lab manual for lab reports writing. There are enough consumable supplies for two kids to do.

 

Everything was packed in sealed pouches by experiments so it was easy for my kid to get his supplies ready for any particular lab. We had missing a tweezer in our kit but we have a dissection kit at home so I didn't bother filing a missing item request.

 

A low end microscope came with the kit, good enough for doing the labs. The scale that came with the kit needed a 500g weight to calibrate so we use our own digital scale instead.

 

I found the lab manual for BK-02 kit by the same company. You can take a look and see if that is close to your requirements.

https://www.homeworkmarket.com/sites/default/files/q4/06/09/50-0059-bk-02-lab_manual.pdf

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Possibly this is an alternate to what you have in mind.  DD used a Virtual Lab CD with this textbook, for her Biology 1 course:

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0131152912/ref=olp_f_usedGood?ie=UTF8&qid=1471983957&sr=1-1

 

I believe they are developing a new Biology course, but that textbook is available at very low cost.

 

This is the CD with the Virtual Labs:

 

https://www.amazon.com/PRENTICE-HALL-BIOLOGY-VIRTUAL-2004C/dp/0131256823/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1471984253&sr=1-1&keywords=0131256823

 

Possibly run this idea by your student and see what the reaction is. Option one is a traditional Biology Lab kit. Option 2 is the Biology Virtual Labs CD, with the above textbook.

 

DD took the Biology EOC (end of course) exam required by the State of Texas, during July, and she did very well.

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QSL sells a great kit.

http://www.qualitysciencelabs.com/biology-labs/qsl-biology-lab-kit/

 

DD15 used this last year. The manual has all the instructions for the labs and the kit has all the tools required to do dissections as well as the animals. The manual also has instructions on how to correlate the labs to most of the major biology texts. We used the Miller and Levine Dragonfly book last year and this kit worked just fine for all the labs.

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Possibly this is an alternate to what you have in mind.  DD used a Virtual Lab CD with this textbook, for her Biology 1 course:

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0131152912/ref=olp_f_usedGood?ie=UTF8&qid=1471983957&sr=1-1

 

I believe they are developing a new Biology course, but that textbook is available at very low cost.

 

This is the CD with the Virtual Labs:

 

https://www.amazon.com/PRENTICE-HALL-BIOLOGY-VIRTUAL-2004C/dp/0131256823/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1471984253&sr=1-1&keywords=0131256823

 

Possibly run this idea by your student and see what the reaction is. Option one is a traditional Biology Lab kit. Option 2 is the Biology Virtual Labs CD, with the above textbook.

 

DD took the Biology EOC (end of course) exam required by the State of Texas, during July, and she did very well.

I'm looking to do something more hands-on than virtual labs. Unlike your child, mine will not do well on any biology exams. Science is not her thing. In place of wonderful science test scores, I'd like a more standard description of our labs.

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  • 3 years later...
On 8/23/2016 at 3:10 PM, Haiku said:

We are enjoying a kit from eScience Labs. We got the one that cost $98.

Resurrected thread!

The sample for this looks good. We've already done a few dissections and microscope labs, so the $98 set might be perfect. Do you recall what the experiments were in it? The table of contents just lists topics, but I like the sample lab.

ETA- Nevermind. They emailed me that they don't sell to homeschoolers?

Edited by MamaSprout
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