Technical difficulties!

This was a tough lab! Only 3 of the 4 cultures I started on Tuesday were ready by today. The fourth one (B. catahallis) didn't do anything. I don't know if I went in while the inoculating loop was too hot or what. I also forgot that the Endospore stain required boiling water, so at the beginning of the lab, I had to go to the chem lab to borrow equipment to boil water with. The kids were great though! They were very patient and helpful. They definitely realized today why I need Lab Techs for next year. Also with only one set of stains (remember this was from the kit that came from Carolina), the kids had to share today. They did well, but I need more of these stains before next semester. However, the stained slides they made looked great! Micrococcus luteus reacted VERY well to the capsule stain! It was very interesting--probably my favorite.

I made some nutrient agar slants this morning and only 8 of the 20 set up. Maybe I can use the other 12 as nutrient broth tubes next week. I'll need some soon anyway. I need to make transfers of the original cultures that were given to me. I think next time I'll pipette them out while they are on the stir plate. I know the agar powder settled to the bottom while I was aliquoting it out. This was definitely a day of trial and LOTS of error. Even trying to melt the agar for Monday's lab went awry. I need to purchase a deeper water bath because only the agar in the bottom of the flask melted, but I am FAST running out of money. I think on Monday I'll have to take a crock pot to set the 1000 mL flasks in while the water heats enough to melt the agar.