Magnificent Microorganisms

So the last 2 weeks have seen us busy exploring the world of microorganisms.

In our first experiment, we conducted a fair test to see if we could determine which conditions were most conducive to the development of mold.  Sounds pretty icky right?  Well it was...

Students tested the effects of light, heat and moisture on mold growth in bread.  We wet some bread and left it in the classroom, we stashed bread into dark corners of the room and we left some outside in the Canberra heat.  After a week, we checked out what had happened.

Dark conditions

Moist conditions

Hot conditions

We clearly discovered that mold grows best in moist conditions!

  

We also transformed our classrooms into a scene from My Kitchen Rules, with Master Chef Ms Hall treating us to a demonstration of how to mix the ingredients with yeast (a microorganism) and create the perfect conditions for it to grow and transform our ingredients into yummy warm bread - hot from the canteen oven.

Mixing the ingredients

The ball of dough

Resting the dough

The risen dough

Punching down the dough

Ready for the oven

Cooked at last

Yummy bread - heading for our tummies!

Thanks Ms Hall for our fantastic, gastronomic science investigations!