Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.



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Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
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MacBeth
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Posted: Nov 17 2005 at 2:20pm | IP Logged Quote MacBeth

OK. I know what you're thinking...there's enough bacteria in the house already.
But this is so cool.

I have been reading A Field Guide to Bacteria by Betsey Dexter Dyer. I was hooked when, in the acknowledgements, she mentions that her kids want to get t-shirts saying, "I was at an eruption of Old Faithful but didn't see it because I was too busy staring down at the bacteria in the runoff water." Truly, she is a mom after my own heart. (this book is not written from a Christian perspective, FYI...)

On the cover of the book is a photo of the author's pet bacteria, growing in a
winogradsky column. I think that site requires a plug-in of some sort, but it demonstrates but one way to make a winogradsky column. Here is another.

Prof. Dyer suggests this recipe:

Find a large cylindrical jar (she uses a mason jar)
layer it with things that you believe might be of interest to bacteria...

straw, paper, leaves, bark, metal, manure, insect shells, boiled egg yolk, salt, Epsom salts, etc...

Then decide how to let the jar set...with sunlight, or in darkness, or both (taping some parts off), with a lid tightened, or lidless, in the cold or warmth, etc.

Hey, the author has had her winogradsky column for 20 years, so these pets are care-free, but last for a long time! Take samples from time to time to see what's in your jar (she includes instructions for viewing bacteria in the book).


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amyable
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Posted: Nov 17 2005 at 2:50pm | IP Logged Quote amyable

This is my kind of pet! Not only is it generally care free but I'm a biologist at heart. I love microbes.

My dh will think I've gone off the deep end though...

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MacBeth
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Posted: Nov 17 2005 at 4:34pm | IP Logged Quote MacBeth

amyable wrote:
This is my kind of pet! Not only is it generally care free but I'm a biologist at heart. I love microbes.

My dh will think I've gone off the deep end though...


Yeah, me too, but the kids were so happy that they began to search for the ultimate jar. .


Here is another
link to some beautiful winogradsky columns...click on the individual images to zoom in, and check out the visual observations to find out some interesting results from this batch.

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Karen E.
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Posted: Nov 17 2005 at 7:22pm | IP Logged Quote Karen E.

MacBeth wrote:

I have been reading A Field Guide to Bacteria by Betsey Dexter Dyer. I was hooked when, in the acknowledgements, she mentions that her kids want to get t-shirts saying, "I was at an eruption of Old Faithful but didn't see it because I was too busy staring down at the bacteria in the runoff water." Truly, she is a mom after my own heart.


This is what I love about these forums ... I read about stuff I would NEVER think of. And, thanks to people like you, MacBeth, I may actually try to interest my children in the secret life of bacteria.

(Of course, it's more my speed to find a good piece of bacteria based literature, read it to the kids and then bake something in the shape of bacteria as I recommend bacteria lapbooks, but, hey, I'll give this a try!)

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MacBeth
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Posted: Nov 17 2005 at 7:27pm | IP Logged Quote MacBeth

Karen, to really round out your bacteria unit, try these fun Christmas gifts requiring even less care than microbes in a jar.
.

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Karen E.
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Posted: Nov 17 2005 at 9:35pm | IP Logged Quote Karen E.

MacBeth wrote:
Karen, to really round out your bacteria unit, try these fun Christmas gifts requiring even less care than microbes in a jar.
.




Em was just looking over my shoulder and we flipped through the links -- she said, "It might sound funny, but that bad breath looks kind of cuddly."

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MacBeth
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Posted: Nov 18 2005 at 8:18am | IP Logged Quote MacBeth

Yeah. They are cute. Paul says he wants The Clap for Christmas.   

I think they were originally meant for hospitals and doctor's offices, but they have apparently caught on.

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