Australia's Science Forum

Hi ri We've kept mealworms for years. I use wheat bran and feed them sliced apple. They are kept in a small glass aquarium and I also put wet paper towel on the top for moisture. I clean the aquarium out once a term, and start with fresh bran. That way there is no smell. I place the mealworms in a s...

Hi Everyone In WA we are not required to provide Risk Assessment sheets. Sounds like a lot of extra work. We have a Chemical Register and MSDS's, which Staff can consult. Here, the onus is on the teaching staff to know the risks involved with any prac they order. This, of course, is usually not the ...

Hi everyone We've done the Vit C prac for many years. We use 2,6, Dichloroindophenol (DCPIP) powder. The powder has been on the shelf over 10 years and is still OK. You can buy the powder from Chem Supply. The recipe we use is: 0.1g DCPIP solid in 100g distilled water. You have to make fresh as it d...

Hi Rainbow-sky The copper X-Mas tree in Silver nitrate works well. It will grow silver crystals if left in the solution. (0.1M) Down side is it will stain skin black, so wear gloves. Also, Silver nitrate is expensive. We usually wind copper wire around a pencil, remove coil from pencil and suspend i...

Hi Chemical We use Potassium ferricyanide (Potassium hexacyanoferrate) as a rust indicator. Not sure if this is what you want? We use a 0.1M solution, made up from powder. The colour changes from yellow/green to blue in the presence of rust. The students rust a nail in salt water in a test tubes and...

Hi Dolphinscales I use Perth Scientific PH 92093955. They deal with most of the companies in the Eastern states. eg Haines, Livingstone, IEC, ChemSupply. Like Fibreweb, use ISSCO for prepared slides, they are by far the cheapest. Especially minigrids. I have a recent flyer I could fax you if you lik...

Hi Eggman Radioactive sources are available from Haines in Victoria. approx $200 each. You will need a lead lined, lockable box to store them in. We also have smaller lead containers, inside the box. The smaller containers are also used to transport the sources from lead lined box to the lab. Don,t ...

Hi Bindi

We use Wandering Jew (Tradecantia zebrina). The leaves are green on top and red/pink underneath.
It gives really good results.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Alice

Hi Estelle

Bath bombs are a great idea.

We use Sugarine tablets. They work OK as well. Also cheap!

Alice

Hi Dolphinscales Have you tried contacting the Regional Techs? The manual they put out has a section in it on service and repairs. Perhaps if you called them they could talk you through it or maybe come to Perth for an inservice, bringing your various brands of microscope with you. I think you will ...

Hi Wendy I use a 1L bottle, into which I put 100ml of 2M HCl + 400ml of water. I use a vial, into which I put 8-10g of bicarb soda. I tie cotton around the top of the vial, leaving long ends. Secure the cotton to the vial with sticky tape. I then suspend the vial in the bottle, just down from the ne...

Hi Annette The lids are available from Silverlocks, Catalano Road, Canning Vale. Phone 94551366 Fax 94551835 You can buy the bottles, droppers and lids all separately. Its worth getting Silverlocks catalogue. The prices are much cheaper and they sell every type of glass and plastic containers you ca...

Hi Kimmy I use peg board (approx 45 x 30cm). I glue 10 small pieces of dowelling into the holes, across the top and bottom of the peg board. I attach the alligator clips to the dowelling, top and bottom of the board. (This holds 10 leads. You can have more, just put more dowelling on the top and bot...

Hi Teresa I have bought the Omega Scientific Lab Stock Control program and think it is very good. It is very user friendly and covers all areas we require. We also have put the program on our network, so that both science blocks can have access. You are welcome to come and have a look, any time afte...