Biology on a Budget: Knock out Experiments Now!

 Right now is a good time to knock out several Biology experiments.  Let’s start with the flower dissection.  Every time I teach Biology, the Botany unit falls in early spring.  Daffodils are expensive!  Do the flower dissection, Monocots and Dicots lab, Geotropism lab, and a Phototropism project now!  Seeds are both inexpensive and available right now—especially after July 4th.  Even fake flowers are on sale.  One April I used fake daffodils for the flower dissection.  

Informal garden experiments count, too!  We’re pursuing our annual quest to grow tomatoes.  Right now I’m researching blossom rot, sickly cilantro, and why the only vegetables we can grow successfully in the raised bed are cucumbers.  Document!  Take photos, make sketches!  Create spreadsheets recording growth, lime or fertilizer applications, and amount of rainfall with a homemade rain gauge.  You know Fall gets crazy.  Knock Botany off your list.

Biology on a Budget: Safety Glasses

What do you do about safety glasses during lab experiments?  My policy is to use polycarbonate safety glasses rather than goggles.  Why?  The kids will wear them.  I bought a bunch with colored frames; the kids like to pick their favorite colors.  You can buy a dozen for about $10.  (Give your nieces and nephews nerf guns and safety glasses as Christmas presents.). You can find single pairs of safety glasses under $2 each. 

Biology on a Budget: T-pins and Owl Pellets

 I was in Michaels and ran across T-pins.  I didn’t know they are quilter’s pins.  I’ve only used them for dissections.  Right now I’m scouring websites for owl pellets and dissection specimens.  (Don’t buy an owl pellet kit.  You need a bone sorting chart, paper plate, and a few toothpicks to do the dissection.  Really.). Jumbo owl pellets have more bones to sort; medium pellets are a good compromise between quality and price.  If you only need one, see if you can find Owl Puke used with an owl pellet or a single kit on Amazon for $6.  Educational Innovations has owl pellets for $2.75 each.  Check the shipping.  I’ll circle back to this topic if I locate a good price.

Microscope Slides: Amazon Prime

Check these out!  The set of 25 slides is great for high school Biology.  The colorful set is for elementary-aged students.  I recommend the 100 slide set if you teach high school level Biology with a Co-op regularly.

 Keep an eye out for microscope slides during the upcoming Prime Day sale.  BTW many sites match Amazon’s prices.  Now is the time to find a bargain!  Below are screen prices for different sets of slides.  A 25 piece set is fine for high school Biology class.  Compare the Biology Complete Slide Set from Apologia (slides only) with  the Amscope’s 25 pc Prepared Microscope Slide set. My goal in Biology is for the kids to be able to focus and sketch slides successfully.  The first year I taught Biology to the Co-op we used a 25 piece set to teach three teens.  I do have loads of slides I bought on sale or through Good Will because I teach larger Co-op Biology classes regularly. I use the color-coded set of slides to help my teens learn how to focus under the microscope.  These slides are intended for elementary aged students.  Take a look!

Make it Science!

I make crafts into science experiments.  Here’s how.  Take an idea, such as DIY powdered paint for a color run.  Buy a commercial sample and collect several different recipes.  Which is most like the commercial powder?  Which version is easiest to prepare or the cheapest?  Here are options: Crush sidewalk chalk, Cornstarch and food gel, or Flour and food gel.  Run by Good Will to buy white t-shirts and schedule your own color run!

Biology on a Budget: Dissections

 When it comes to dissections, save your money for a set of specimens.  You can dissect on a styrofoam plate with an ordinary knife.  Use straight pins from your sewing kit.  The dissection sets and lined pans are nice but not essential.  I invested in dissection guides.  They are convenient to use instead of devices or textbooks.  (Are you on an extreme budget?  Is your teen just too squeamish to dissect?  Here is a post about virtual dissections.)

Biology on a Budget: Basic Equipment

What do you need  apart from a microscope and slides?  Basic tools include safety glasses, a test tube set, a thermometer, pH paper, and Petri dishes.  I use safety glasses instead of goggles.  The kids are more apt to wear safety glasses.  Below are some of the most basic materials.  For many experiments, I use household materials: eye dropper, yeast, iodine, split peas, etc.  Take a look!

Buy at least six test tubes.  These should be borosilicate, Pyrex, or Kimax glass.  (Size 18 x 150 mm will fit most standard test tube racks.) 

 This set has a cardboard, test tube rack.  It’s sturdy enough to last all year.  Use a clothespin as a test tube holder.  

This set is more of an investment?  Do you have a large family?  Are you planning on using the set for Chemistry, too?  

Buy a thermometer.  Home Science Tools has several, including a metal-backed thermometer.

Buy a pack or two of pH paper.

Buy a few Petri dishes.  Plastic or polystyrene are fine for most experiments.

Fourth of July Science!

Let’s start with Fireworks in a Bottle.  Another idea is to do Flame Tests. (Here are household chemical salts to substitute, such as hand sanitizer.). Here, here, and here are stacks of Fourth of July experiments.  Change colors with butterfly tea.  ( We use baking soda and citric acid powder to change colors.). Happy July 4th!

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Biology on a Budget: Stream Study

 This Fall, I want to do a stream study with my Co-op class as part of the introductory activities.  I plan to use GLOBE protocols.  (Warning!  GLOBE can be overwhelming.). Look at the Freshwater Macroinvertebrates protocol, the data sheet, and this identification key.  Here is a poster with great pix!  Macroinvertebrates are insect larva in streams. Bring ice cube trays to sort the little critters,   They are good indicators of the overall water quality.  Test the water temperature and measure the pH of the water.  Use an armored thermometer.  Test the water’s pH.  Measure stream flow with a tennis ball, flags, timer, and measuring tape.  With a few tools you can do a robust stream study.

Apologia Biology on a Budget: Microscope Slides

 Don’t overspend on microscope slides.  I recommend buying this set of 25 slides for around $15.  If your kids use a digital microscope with a laptop, they can focus the slides, take pix, and make sketches.  BTW I bring out currency to examine with the microscope to teach how to focus.  You may want to gamble on a microscope with slides from Good Will .  Don’t pay more than $20, including shipping.  The set of 48 slides at the bottom is more of an elementary level than high school level.  I use these for kids who have trouble focusing the slides.  At the bottom is a set of slides with onion root tip for mitosis and daphnia, usually with other pond life.  These slides are useful if you follow the Apologia Biology textbook closely.

Apologia Biology on a Budget: Microscopes

 Yes!  One more post about microscopes and slides.  Many, many home-school families buy an expensive microscope for their teens when they reach high school.  I have less costly suggestions.  I do have several, traditional microscopes.  We tend to have larger Co-op classes.  I need several microscopes.  We use a bunch.  The kids try all of them and settle on their favorites.

One of the home-school families bought an auction lot of EduScience microscopes (shown below).  The quality was excellence!  Good Will online or eBay has similar microscopes.  Don’t spend more than $20 including shipping

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We also use digital microscopes.  I have three different brands. They should connect with any laptop; however they don’t.  The kids focus the slide, take pix, and sketch the image.  

I have bought a few microscopes from Good Will online.  This has proven the riskiest option.  There is no way to tell if the microscope will focus.  I seldom pay more than $20 total because this microscope is a gamble.