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July 27, 2016 | 11 Comments

Swab & Grow – Bacteria Growth Experiment

BACTERIA GROWTH SCIENCE EXPERIMENT FOR SCIENCE FAIRScience at home doesn’t have to be hard. This bacteria growth experiment was a cinch! It’s all because I found the right kit.

This post contains affiliate links. When I was looking for fun STEM-themed activity kits to check out with my kids this summer, I discovered this Amazing Bacteria Science Kit and that it was totally affordable! Your kids are going to love this bacteria growth experiment.  I haven’t been this excited about a science experiment in ages, and my daughter was pumped too.  I never thought you could get all the stuff needed like Petri dishes filled with agar on Amazon, but you can! Here is the link for the kit we used or just click on the photo below.

bacteria growth experiment

 

So here is what we did. We kept it simple because it’s summer, and the school year is intense for my kids, and I try to really back off during the summer. Reading, experiences, and I try to slip in math too but nothing it too structured. That’s why exciting kits like this one are such a fun way to explore science at home.

We opened the kit and looked at all the stuff; it came with a great easy to read ( my six year old read it to me) instruction sheet and everything you need except a warm table lamp.

We decided on what we wanted to swab to see how dirty it was and used a sharpie to write it right onto the Petri dish lids.

writing on petri dishes for bacteria growth science experiment

Here is our list:
Toilet
Doornob (bathroom)
The Sink
My phone
The Remote
My son’s Carseat
My daughter’s Bitty Baby
My son’s head
My daughter’s headbacteria growth science experiment for kids

Next, we used the sterile swabs to get the samples. swabbing items

We spread it onto the agar. swabbing

Closed them all up and put them under a lamp. petri dish bacteria growth experiment

We made some predictions. We both thought that my son’s old car seat would be the yuckiest, then the sink, and I will admit I was very worried about my phone.

bacteria growth science experiment for science projects

We had them under it for a full 24 hours before anything grew. Five days later this is what we got: The car seat was the bacteria that grew the fastest and covered the most of the agar.

car seat

The car seat was the bacteria that grew the fastest and covered the most of the agar.

sink

The sink wasn’t as bad as I thought but you can bet I will be cleaning it more thoroughly from now on. moms phone

My phone was pretty gross.my daughter

So was my daughter.

son

Surprisingly my son came out super clean, and the bacteria that did grow took forever.

compare

We did compare the results with images we found online and got a few definitive results, this is my one complaint about this kit, that there is no way to identify the bacteria in the samples. There is an optional e-book that I completely forgot about so maybe it’s in there… my kids loved it without this step, and Google image searches will provide you with the horror for free!

summer stem lab no time for flash cards

This bacteria growth science experiment is part of my Summer STEM Lab series of posts aimed at school age kids. You could absolutely do this science experiment with preschoolers but I wanted to share some of the STEM fun I am having with my 6 and 9-year-old this summer here on the blog so I created this series. Hopefully, by next week I will have our new Playroom Maker Space finished and ready to share.

Filed Under: Age: Elementary, Age: Kindergarten, Preschool Activities, Science, Science Experiments, STEM, Summer STEM Lab | 11 Comments

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11 Comments

  1. Robin says

    February 25, 2018 at 7:43 am

    Hi! Great experiment! Can you tell me if you remembet using a special light bulb in your lamp to grow the bacteria? Thank you so much!!!

    to Robin" aria-label='reply to this comment to Robin'>reply to this comment
    • Allison McDonald says

      February 27, 2018 at 10:02 pm

      It was just a regular light bulb on a warm area of our kitchen.

      to Allison McDonald" aria-label='reply to this comment to Allison McDonald'>reply to this comment
    • Carlos says

      February 24, 2020 at 3:16 pm

      Where did u find the agar?

      to Carlos" aria-label='reply to this comment to Carlos'>reply to this comment
      • Allison McDonald says

        February 28, 2020 at 1:21 pm

        It comes in the kit that I linked.

        to Allison McDonald" aria-label='reply to this comment to Allison McDonald'>reply to this comment
  2. Amos says

    April 25, 2018 at 2:02 pm

    We are growing bacteria on our own without a kit. Growth is great and I’m trying to figure out what exactly we are growing. I’d like to have my kids match the image on the computer to the Petri dish – but I’m having a hard time finding a identification chart. Were you able to find something?

    to Amos" aria-label='reply to this comment to Amos'>reply to this comment
  3. Mindy Petersen says

    January 30, 2020 at 7:37 pm

    Hi! I appreciate your post. My 3rd grader is attempting this project for her science fair this weekend. Did yours have condensation at all in the plates? We did the swabs Monday and it is now Thursday and nothing has grown. 🙁 We are sad. And hope it hasn’t been botched….

    to Mindy Petersen" aria-label='reply to this comment to Mindy Petersen'>reply to this comment
  4. Melissa says

    April 5, 2020 at 8:41 pm

    Can you use the agar more than once? Or is there enough to use several times?

    to Melissa" aria-label='reply to this comment to Melissa'>reply to this comment
    • Allison McDonald says

      April 7, 2020 at 5:25 pm

      I don’t think you can and it comes with 8? I think.

      to Allison McDonald" aria-label='reply to this comment to Allison McDonald'>reply to this comment
  5. Denise Sanders says

    November 16, 2020 at 2:45 pm

    How did you dispose of the plates that have bacteria growing on them?

    to Denise Sanders" aria-label='reply to this comment to Denise Sanders'>reply to this comment

Trackbacks

  1. Why you should't let your pet lick your face! - Homeschool Fridays says:
    April 24, 2018 at 1:03 pm

    […] I stumbled upon this blog post by “No time for flash cards”. They did a different kind of experiment, but this project was the starting point to ours. We saw […]

    to Why you should't let your pet lick your face! - Homeschool Fridays" aria-label='reply to this comment to Why you should't let your pet lick your face! - Homeschool Fridays'>reply to this comment
  2. Easy Science Fair Project Ideas for All Ages (And Picking the Perfect Project) says:
    February 25, 2019 at 8:45 am

    […] Bacteria Growth […]

    to Easy Science Fair Project Ideas for All Ages (And Picking the Perfect Project)" aria-label='reply to this comment to Easy Science Fair Project Ideas for All Ages (And Picking the Perfect Project)'>reply to this comment

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