LaMotte BioPaddle Air Microbe Hunter

Students predict which environmental conditions are favorable to airborne microbes and then propose and carry out a strategy to collect airborne microbes using passive sampling techniques. Students construct and calibrate an impact sampler to sample an airspace and determine airborne microbe contaminate levels. Activities and topics include the presumptive identification of airborne microbes, bioaerosols, cloud chemistry and precipitation, bacterial ice nucleators, and airborne diseases. STEM extension activities include How Did Fungus Get Into King Tut’s Tomb? and Dust and Dust Bunnies.