This microbiology kit has been designed as an introduction to the study of micro-organisms. The booklet has been written for the teacher who has little or no experience of handling micro-organisms and includes full instructions on safety, aseptic techniques, growing micro-organisms and their safe disposal. All of the experiments are set out step by step and cover a range of needs from 12-year-olds to sixth-form students.

The kit could be used by a single student working through all the experiments or by a group working in parallel. The reagents, cultures and media can be stored for several months, particularly if they are refrigerated. It is possible to keep cultures for longer periods, providing they are sub-cultured on to fresh medium at regular intervals.

Experiments included in the teaching notes are as follows:

• Making broth cultures
• Effects of temperature
• Making plate cultures
• Effect of antibiotics
• Gram's staining
• Negative staining
• Pasteurisation
• Examining living bacteria
• How fungi obtain food
• Bacteria around us
• Looking at fungi
• Bacteria in soil
• The life cycle of Mucor
• Bacteria in milk

The kit contains:

• Fungi Cultures: Aspergillus oryzae, Mucor+, 
• Bacterial Cultures: Penicillium chrysogenum, Bacillus stearothermophilus, Staphylococcus albus, Escherica coli,
• 10 x nutrient agar deeps
• 5 x nutrient broths
• 1 x starch agar
• 1 x malt extract agar
• 1 x china blue lactose agar
• 20 x petri dishes
• 1 x universal container
• 1 pair of gloves
• 50 pre-cleaned slides
• 100 x 18mm square coverslips
• 2 x sterile pipettes
• 5 x cavity slides
• 1 x inoculating loop
• Chinagraph Pencil
• 3 x disposal bags
• 1 x alcohol bottle (empty)
• 1 x Grams Iodine
• 1 x Crystal Violet
• 1 x Neutral Red
• 1 x Aniline Blue
• 1 x nigrosine
• 1 x 10% Resazurin Tablets
• 10 x Streptomycin - 25 units
• 10 x Penicillin - 1.5 units
• 10 x Penicillin - 5 units

All parts of the kit can be replaced from our extensive range of cultures, media, reagents and equipment.

Additional materials and equipment required:

• Adhesive Tape
• Cotton Wool
• Blotting/filter paper
• Absolute Alcohol (Industrial methylated spirit)
• Sodium Hypochlorite or domestic bleach
• Vaseline
• Immersion Oil
• Formalin
• Bunsen Burner, tripod & gauze
• Water bath (or beaker of water)
• Test Tubes & bungs
• Incubator (optional)
• Thermometer
• Microscope with Abbe condenser, capable of 400x and 1000x magnification
• Stereo Microscope
• Forceps
• Dissecting needle
• Beakers

Please note: Alcohol has been omitted from the kit, although an empty bottle for it is provided. This enables the kit to be send freely by post and air.