Getting started: The teacher will need to acquire the materials listed, or ask the members of the class to supply them.  Students can work in groups of two or three.

Task: Follow the project outline.

Learning Outcomes:
Familiarizad to work, breaking down all the organic matter.   A sealed vat, though, will build up pressure and burst, from the methane given off by the microbes, so the gas is vented from the vat and in countries where energy is at a premium, is often used to power machinery in the sewage plant.  Methane can be used as a fuel both in internal combustion engines (ie as in your car) and in gas turbines (as in an airliner).   These engines can power pumps and sluices, generate electricity and even deliver the excess power into the electricity grid system.  Thus your local sewage plant can be eco-friendly, by adding no net increase in greenhouse gasses or other pollutants to the environment.  It also allows a certainty of power supply to the treatment plant, for it is not at the mercy of electricity grid or public gas supply.  A failing sewage plant is potentially more hazardous than almost any other type of civic amenity save perhaps a nuclear power plant.  It must keep working at all costs.

Up to 50% of the sludge can be digested in the vats, but once the process starts to wane the vats are emptied and the waste material can be spread out on the ground to dry in shallow concrete pits.  Once this has happened the material can be collected, bagged, and sold as land fertilizer.  It is safe to handle and extremely effective in the fields, provided it is free from industrial pollutm">project outline.

Getting started: The teacher will need to acquire the materials listed, or ask the members of the class to supply them.  Students can work in groups of two or three.

Task: Follow the project outline.

Learning Outcomes:
Familiarization with methods of water treatment.

Developing simple construction skills.

Understanding some basic principles in microbiology.

Suitability for students with special needs:  Yes.  Teachers may need to adapt the experiment according to ability.

Further work: Improve the design.  Look at how the system may be adapted for use on a space station in microgravity.

Links:
Water Microbiology from Washington State University

A sewage treatment plant

Waste in Space


Experiment with Enzymes

Goal:  To demonstrate the effect of enzymes.

Subjects areas:  General Science (Biology), Hygiene, Technology.

Basic Activity Time: One Hour

Preparation Time: 30 Minutes

Background Information and References: See the project outline

Getting started: The teacher will need to acquire the materials listed, or ask the members of the class to supply them.  Students can work in groups of two of three.

Task: Follow the project outline.

Learning Outcomes:
Introduction to experimental method.

Familiarization with enzymes.

Understanding the relationship between enzymes and microbiology.

Drawing conclusions from results.

 

Suitability for students with special needs:  Yes.  Teachers may need to adapt the experiment according to ability.

Further work: Improve the experiment by varying types of stains (eg organic material compared with inorganic).

Links:
Enzymes


Using Microscopes

Goal: To introduce students to microscopes and what can be achieved by using them, particularly with respect to microbiology.

Subjects areas:  General Science, Biology.

Basic Activity Time:  From 30 minutes

Preparation Time: 15 to 30 Minutes

Background Information and References:  See the project outline.

Getting started: The teacher will need to set up the microscope or microscopes.  If a limited number are available, a rotor system will need to be devised and activities arranged for those not using the microscope(s) at any given time.  This might include preparing slides and other materials for viewing.

Task: Follow the project outline.

Learning Outcomes:
Familiarization with the cell.

Familiarization with microscopes, how they work and what they do.

Introduction to basic microbiology.

Learning to draw the natural world.

Familiarization with protozoa.

Introduction to the technique of making microscope slides and staining biological samples.

Suitability for students with special needs:  Yes.  Teachers may need to adapt the experiment according to ability.

Further work: An enormous range of activities using microscopes, covering many science disciplines is readily available on the internet and elsewhere.  Teachers might think about making multi-colored stained slides, once a class is proficient at staining.

Links:
QX3 Computer Microscope

Microscapes

Space Station Biomedical Lab


Alien Soil Cultures

Goal:  To investigate the problems of interpreting experimental results.  The students will also simulate one type of experiment that can be carried out by a robot planetary explorer spacecraft.

Subjects areas:  General Science (Experimental Method), Biology, Technology, Environmental Studies.

Basic Activity Time:  One Hour

Preparation Time: 30 Minutes

Background Information and References: Follow the project outline.

Getting started: The teacher will need to acquire the materials listed, or ask the members of the class to supply them.  Students can work in groups of two or four.

Task: Follow the project outline.

Learning Outcomes:
Learning scientific and experimental method and its limitations.

Interpretation of results.

Drawing conclusions from data.

An introduction to the process of metabolism in microorganisms (yeast).

Learning about planetary exploration.

Suitability for students with special needs:  Yes.  Teachers may need to adapt the experiment according to ability.

Further work:  The basic exercise raises many questions about how scientific results can be interpreted.  Students should think about devising new ways to eliminate the ambiguities of this experiment and perhaps try them out.


Thursday's Classroom - Planets in a Bottle

Viking Experiments

Life on Mars

Life on other planets


Links to the Guardians Microbiology projects and Classroom Exercises:
Make a water recycling system
Experiment with Enzymes
Using Microscopes
Aliens Soil Cultures
Exercises in Microbiology

Links to practical projects:
The Foundation for Microbiology
DNA Extraction Lab by Joseph Windham
Demonstrating An Epidemic Lab
Demonstration of Cheese-Making Enzyme Magic
Enzyme Grabbers
Extraction of DNA from Onion
Hand washing Laboratory Activities
DNA Extraction from Escherichia and coli cells
A Model of a Bacterial Plasmid
NASA Microbes Lesson Plan
Computers in teaching Microbiology

Microbiology Index - The Search for Life in Space
Microbiology Index - Microbiology on Space Station 2020
Microbiology Index - Microbiology in the Rainforest

 

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