Learning Games Lab
Controlling Water Activity in Food
Food storage matters! Scholars learn how the amount of water in corn can affect its rate of spoilage. They create a control group, then test three corn samples stored in three different locations for water activity. As a result of the...
National Library of Medicine
Your Environment, Your Health: Food Safety
Did youknow that chicken causes the greatest risk of food-borne illness. The fourth unit in a six-part series addresses food safety. Scholars research common scenarios of food causing illness through the National Institute for Health....
Learning Games Lab
Testing and Adjusting pH
Pupils learn how to control food spoilage by adjusting the food's pH. They see that one of the most dangerous bacteria can grow in food if people don't handle and store food properly. Using knowledge of the bacteria's preferred pH,...
Learning Games Lab
How to Use Oil Immersion Microscope
Teach the class how to use a microscope to identify bacteria in food. Scholars explore the different parts of the microscope and learn how to determine total magnification. They walk step-by-step through the procedure of preparing slides...
Learning Games Lab
Gram Staining
Scholars use a lab simulation to test contaminated yogurt for bacteria by gram staining. They learn proper lab procedures for handling bacteria and for sterilizing equipment, and then walk through the process on their own to try gram...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Survival of the Fittest - Variations in the Clam Species Clamys sweetus
It's not often that you come across a clever laboratory activity that is both imaginative and comprehensive! Using M&M's and Reese's peanut butter candies to represent two different clam species, young biologists test for "relative...
Curated OER
Pieces of the Past
Seventh graders compare and contrast the way of life of Native Americans in Texas and around the country. As a class, they brainstorm about the uses of pottery today and use broken pieces of pottery to create an artifact. In groups,...