Culturing Bacteria

We just finished a chapter about viruses, bacteria, protists, and fungi.  Yesterday we swabbed areas around the school and cultured bacteria using agar (a nutrient-rich gel) in petri dishes.  Below you see Briana and Nathan's plate that was swabbed from Mrs. Gomulka's turtle tank. They multiplied overnight.  Each little beige bump is a whole colony! These are most likely salmonella since reptiles carry those. Don't worry; we didn't touch them. :)  Some of the other students' dishes also have a few colonies, but not as many as this.