Will-it Grow Kit™: Discover the Microbes in Your Food!

Meet the tiny microbes hiding in some of your favourite foods with the Will-it-Grow Kit™!

In this hands-on experiment, students prepare four Petri dishes and investigate microorganisms from an included probiotic gummy and familiar, home-provided foods such as cheese and yogurt. They will watch closely to see what grows, compare the different samples, and keep one plate untouched as a negative control.

Designed to make microbiology approachable and engaging, this kit gives young scientists an exciting glimpse into the invisible world of microorganisms, while introducing the careful observation and curiosity that drive real scientific discovery.

Students will learn how to:

• Prepare agar plates for microbial growth.
• Collect and transfer samples using basic aseptic handling techniques.
• Inoculate (streak) agar plates with microorganisms from probiotic and fermented-food samples.
• Use a negative control to identify contamination and validate experimental results.
• Observe and compare differences in colony growth, appearance, distribution, and abundance.
• Record qualitative and quantitative observations over time.
• Explore the role of beneficial microorganisms in probiotics and fermented foods.
• Understand how variables, controls, and consistent procedures contribute to a reliable scientific experiment.

What's included:

• One probiotic gummy for culturing a known, food-safe microbial source.
• Four Petri dishes.
• Sterile water
• Agar
• Swabs/loops
• Inactivation bag
• Identification guide & activity worksheet


Gloves are not included but must be worn during experiments for safety.

• Gloves (available in our Mini Safety Set https://amino.bio/products/mini-safety-set)
• Small samples of cheese and yogurt or drinkable yogurt/kefir.

• Optional: Incubator (recommended for optimal results). Check out our classroom incubator for an easy, classroom-sized solution: Classroom Incubator. (https://amino.bio/products/classroom-incubator)

Cleaning and safety supplies are not included in the kit. Necessary safety and cleaning supplies are latex or nitrile gloves, and a chlorinated bleach cleaner or a 10% solution of chlorinated bleach in a spray bottle (you can make this by adding 9 parts water to 1 part bleach in a spray bottle). You can add a Mini Safety Set to your kit which includes gloves and a reusable plastic apron to protect your clothes.

For more information about safety, set up and clean up, you can have a look at the instruction manual for the experiment linked in the Ressources section below, and at the "Practicing safe science" page.

Shipping Times

Experiment kits are shipped 1-10 working days after you place your order. If you require yours for a specific date or event, please contact us before or with your order # so that we can try to make it happen for you! ☺︎ 

Storage

For any questions, don't hesistate to reach out to us - contact us