On Day 4, after the weekend, I looked to see what colonies were starting to form in which medium.
Some sample plates:
Under Megan's guidance, I make subcultures of 'interesting looking' colonies, ie those that were more likely to be bacteria rather than yeast. It was a case of looking for the unusual, ones that were not too glossy like yeast. I prepared plates with 3 or 4 unusual looking subcultures (from the same medium) on the same plate, to make efficient use of the media available. These cultures are being incubated at 25 degrees C.
I am relishing having a project to manage, with Megan available to answer questions and guide me when necessary. It is making me feel more directly involved, and accelerating my learning about what it feels like to be a scientist. I am learning about lab procedures and the methodical recording of data but more importantly, the wider picture of being a scientist - starting with a question - do we know what it is Kombucha? Could some of the bacteria be new to New Zealand? How came we find out? What scientific investigations do I need to conduct? How will I record my data? What are the ramifications of this investigation? It is authentic hands-on science, as opposed to observational science, and I am very excited to be involved.
