Does Garlic Prevent Microbial Growth? (page 2)

Stay Safe

• Cooking the microbe food is an adult job. Don't try to do it yourself.
• Don't keep your experiment in the kitchen or near where food is prepared or eaten. If a jar breaks, you might get microbes in your food.
• Once you seal your jars, don't ever open them again. Dangerous microbes could grow inside. Dispose of your jars in a safe manner. Do not display your jars with your project. Show your photographs or drawings instead.

Go Easy

The "Go" procedure will work for you. Make sure you understand how to keep this experiment safe. Stay away from the stove and hot microbe food. Let an adult do that part for you.

Go Far

Use the "Go" procedure to see whether the amount of garlic in the microbe food makes a difference. Or you might compare fresh garlic, garlic powder, and ground-up garlic tablets. Test the claims thatonions, tea tree oil, and cinnamon are effective microbe killers. You might also study the effects of refrigeration on microbe growth.

Show Your Results

Your photographs and sketches will show if there are any differences between the "garlic" and "no garlic" jars. Pictures of your "control" jars are just as important. If you get much growth in them, microbes from the air have contaminated all your jars, so you won't be able to say much about the effects of garlic. You will, however, have demonstrated how microbes are everywhere around us, even if we don't see them.

Tips and Tricks

• Don't let your microbes continue to grow for too long. Microbe colonies will eventually overgrow the surfaces of the food. The warmer the place, the sooner this happens.
• Don't even think about opening and cleaning the jars for future use. Discard them after your experiment ends. As you observe your results, you'll see why!

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