Activity

Observing soil microbes

In this activity, students observe billions of soil microbes and ‘see’ microbes at work as they soft boil an egg in a compost bin.

By the end of this activity, students should be able to:

  • discuss that soil is home to living things, including things we cannot see

  • associate the heat generated by microbial activity with the heating of an egg in a compost bin.

Download the Word file (see link below) for:

  • introduction/background notes

  • what you need

  • what to do.

Nature of science

Science is part of our daily lives. Scientific investigations can be as simple as placing an egg in a compost bin and observing what happens next.

Useful link

Soil microbes are essential in the composting process. Find out more about backyard composting on this website.

Published: 30 June 2015