kfeusse Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 My son is trying to grow bacteria in petri dishes. He prepared the dishes and added the germs....we closed them up....and we can't find a constant source of warmth to sit them by. It's been a couple days and I am concerned that if we can find a warm spot, it's too late...and I am also not sure where to find a warms spot. It says behind the fridge as an option, well, our fridge is in a cabinet of sorts and we can't get behind it. The furnace isn't a constant source of heat. So what should we do? Did we already ruin the experiment? Please help. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 I definitely don't think you've ruined it. Heating pad? You wouldn't set them right on it, but nearby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Bacteria are pretty hardy most of the time. Could you put them under a lamp like a little incubator? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 I put ours in a fish tank with a reptile heat lamp on top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
December Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 You could put it in the oven with just the light on. It works for incubating yogurt, so it should work for other bacteria as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clemsondana Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 Most bacteria will grow at room temp, but it takes longer. They tend to like 37C, which is body temp. In the lab, most tended to grow by 12-24 hours in the incubator and 24 hrs-2 days at room temp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 We grew ours at room temp, no problem. It took a little while, but nothing crazy (a week maybe?) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted October 21, 2016 Share Posted October 21, 2016 (edited) Put the petri dishes in a Styrofoam cooler and shine a cheap worksite lamp you get at Home Depot on the cooler until you achieve a temperature of between 35-40 degrees celcius. Adjust the cooler lid until you can maintain that temperature constantly. You didn't ruin the culture; it just isn't warm enough to grow. My son is trying to grow bacteria in petri dishes. He prepared the dishes and added the germs....we closed them up....and we can't find a constant source of warmth to sit them by. It's been a couple days and I am concerned that if we can find a warm spot, it's too late...and I am also not sure where to find a warms spot. It says behind the fridge as an option, well, our fridge is in a cabinet of sorts and we can't get behind it. The furnace isn't a constant source of heat. So what should we do? Did we already ruin the experiment? Please help. thanks. Edited October 21, 2016 by reefgazer 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kfeusse Posted October 21, 2016 Author Share Posted October 21, 2016 we ended up putting them on a heating pad...but he didn't read in his book where it said to place the petri dishes upside down so the condensation water wouldn't fall on the bacteria. Despite that, the one dish labeled "dirty hands" (he ran his hands over the surfaces of our church) is growing all sorts of things. the other ones, not so much..so I am hoping there is hope..we did remove the water and closed up the dishes...and turned them upside down this time. We will see. thanks everybody. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.