Bacteria Are Everywhere!

Each group needs:

• 3 Petri dishes (10 cm diameter) filled with tryptic soy agar; see preparation instructions in the Procedure section
• 3 cotton-tipped swabs (1 per sample)
• Where's My Bacteria? Worksheet (PDF), one per student
• assorted colored pencils and/or markers

To share with the entire class:

• sink with hand soap
• paper towels
• antibacterial gel
• 75 ml tryptic soy agar (TSA); available for $31 (20-kit supply) from Carolina Biological Supply Company at: http://www.carolina.com/biological-media-kits/tryptic-soy-agar-media-kit/821040.pr?catId=&mCat=&sCat=&ssCat=&question=tryptic+soy+agar+media+kit
• digital camera and computer
• ImageJ® software; available for free at http://rsbweb.nih.gov/ij/download.html