Amazing Bacteria Science Kit - Prepoured Agar Plates and Swabs Science Kit - Top Science Fair Projec

Used this kit to demonstrate the amount of bacteria on phones and tablets and the efficacy of various cleaning methods. Worked quite well for this purpose.

I ordered these because I was considering buying a PhoneSoap (a phone sterilizer through UV-C light exposure) and I wanted to make sure that the device worked, and that my phone needed such a measure:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071KGVLBB/Overall, these Agar Plates performed exactly as I needed them to. They were not perfect, but they were easy to purchase, and they helped me get the answer I needed. (That yes, the device works; and yes, my phone really needs it.)These were shipped and arrived very quickly, with Prime Delivery.The first thing that struck me, especially after reading the reviews, but also when receiving the package, is that Evviva Sciences seems to be a very diligent company. They seem aware of the occasional problem with the plates, but they appear eager to make it right. As a busy customer, I'd rather there be no problem at all, rather than a graceful customer service—but a graceful customer service is definitely a pro.My agar plates were well poured, no bubble as some other reviewers have commented. I did notice, and was perturbed/thrown off by some moisture or appearance of moisture. I wasn't quite clear what it was due to.In the end, I think my plates did not seem to have contamination problems (the results were what was expected; and they were repeated with another phone).Here is what I will say to conclude the review: These agar plates come with a one-sided sheet of short, easy to follow instructions. In particular, the guide recommended creating a "positive control": Swab some place you know definitely has a lot of bacteria, to have one plate where you expect to see bacterial growth, so you can see whether your environment is hostile to bacterial growth (for instance, if your environment is too cold, or if you accidentally poured sterilizing bleach in the plates, etc.). At any rate, this was a great recommendation.Overall this was an affordable way to make sure I was not getting conned by a marketing fad, as far as the phone sanitizer was concerned. I assume these would be similarly useful for a science fair project, or to test bacterial growth around the house.---Please, if you have found this review useful, consider marking it as "Helpful." Amazon is great when you get to see reviews from actual shoppers—as opposed to paid writers and fake bots—and posting photos of the products and marking each other's actual reviews as "Helpful" is part of the way we help make sure reviews remain useful. Thanks! -- JL

Worked great for my child's science project!

Ordered for my daughters science project at school. It was my first time dealing with petri dishes.As it was our first time I think I made a few mistakes :(BUT it was user error and not the company.I was and still am very satisfied with the product so I'm ordering a second set to try this again.Where I think we went wrong.Our project is called "How Disinfectants work?" As a side question we wondered if ecofriendly cleaners as effective as the harsher chemicals. And the objective was to rub lunchmeat on a cutting board, leave out over night then use a cotton ball of disinfectant on each individual section with a different disinfectant for each section and let it dry.Everything went smooth up to this point, but when I came time to use the sterile cotton swab to culture the bacteria, I didnt wet the swab, we used it dry on the dry surface.Second mistake, I thought i had to put the dishes in a warm spot, so I placed them at the bottom of a cardboard box and used my livestock heat lamp above it. I had a thermometer and made sure it stayed at around 80°F. I noticed condensation forming on the top of the dishes bit.thought it was an initial reaction that would correct itself.Nope, it got thicker and more dense. I think I cooked the agar and dried the water out of the mix.What we will correct.1. Use distilled water to wet the cotton swab before culturing the bacteria.2. Place the dishes upside down in the box3. I will turn the box on its side and heat it from the outside making a dark warm oven environment.I will happily take this as a FAIL, First Attempt In Learning. Happy swabbing :)

I am an infection control nurse and used these at work to help staff realize why they need to wash their hands more. I took swabs of 10 different surfaces that are used constantly (keyboards, phones, wheelchair handles, charting kiosks, break room tables, etc). I grew them for 4 days in a dark, moist, humid environment and the results were amazing!!! Staff were disgusted by what is actually on the surfaces of items they use ans think are clean. These agar dishes were so simple to use. Directions were clear. I will definitely consider ordering more of these if I do my experiment again. Definitely recommend.