Citizen of Science

Another Old Science Kit

2011-12-17T17:20:00.007-05:00

Another Old Science Kit

Here in the top picture you see another set I found, it doesn't have the box though. This is exactly the one my parents bought for me in the 1970's. It is the "Mr. Wizard Experiments in Crystal Growing". I really enjoyed playing with this, I always liked growing crystals. As you can see they gave you plenty of chemicals to work with back then. Mr. Wizard had some nice science kits in the 1970's. I had 2 of them the chemistry set and the crystal growing set.

The second picture is an old catalog from the The Perfect Parts Company. I remember once when we I was young and we where in the United States. I don't remember what store it was but they had a booth with this companies products and there was a huge line up of people trying to buy things. I had wished we had some place like this where I lived, finding lab equipment at a reasonable cost was hard for me when I was young. If you do web check you will find they still exist.

The Arduino

2011-11-06T21:20:00.004-05:00

The Arduino

I have been looking at the Arduino for some time. I finally picked one up, as well as the first edition of "Getting Started with Arduino" by Massimo Banzi. This seems to be a simple and inexpensive way to learn and to use a micro controller. A way to connect different sensors to a computer. Just great for the home lab. It is an open source electronics prototyping platform. You can purchase one already built or you can get the parts and put it together yourself. The Arduino receives input from a variety of sensors, which can then control lights, motors, and other actuators.

There are many books on the arduino. I have just the one, "Getting Started with Arduino" by Massimo Banzi.

I will post arduino lab projects as I build them. I am looking into a spectrometer, digital thermometer, pH meter, etc. So stay tuned. But for the time being look at these websites, become familiar with the arduino and enjoy.

The home page for the Arduino can be found here:

www.arduino.cc

and the Getting Started with Arduino page is:

arduino.cc/en/Guide/HomePage

Another Beginners Arduino Tutorial can be found here:

www.ladyada.net/learn/arduino/

A project site:

www.practicalarduino.com/projects

DIYBIO and Genetics

2011-08-21T22:42:00.003-04:00

Over the past weekend I did some web surfing and I found this site called "Learn Genetics":

1) http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/

It teaches the basics of genetics. It shows you how to virtually build a DNA molecule, talks about DNA to protein and all the basics needed to understand genetics. There virtual labs such as 1) DNA extractions, 2) PCR, 3) Gel Electrophoresis and 4) DNA Microarray.

2) There is a link to HOW TO EXTRACT DNA FROM ANYTHING LIVING:

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/labs/extraction/howto/

3) A link on how to build a gel electrophoresis chamber, including power supply (one of the best I have found):

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/labs/gel/build_gel_box.pdf

A lot of what is on there can be transferred to using plastic dishes instead of building the chamber completely form scratch. But still the lessons for working with plastics are good an can be beneficial if you go that route.

4) Another link that shows you how to run that chamber using kitchen supplies such as agar, table salt, food colouring and filter papers (I would use coffee filters):

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/labs/gel/electrophoresis/

5) Teachers Lesson Plans:

http://teach.genetics.utah.edu/content/

I have not had much time to go through this content yet but I plan to.

Over all a very interesting site with a lot of do-it-yourself projects.

More Books

2011-05-27T15:24:00.004-04:00

I have picked up a couple of interesting books, a couple of older 1960's books and one a little newer late 1990's:

1) Junior Science Projects - 1967 by the Editors of Science Experimenter:

This book has many experiments you can do and many pieces of equipment that you can build. Such as a milli-microampere detector, ion-exchange fuel cell, diffraction grating-type spectrscope, thermistor thermometer, make your own plastic lab equipment (see picture above) and more. Some of the electronic projects require specific tubes, but I am sure with internet searches you can find other ways to make them. A real interesting read.

2) Exploring Science in your Home Laboratory - 1963 by Richard Harbeck:

This book discusses how to build a home science laboratory for chemistry, biology, physics and geology. It walks you through choosing where to locate the lab, which one you would like to build first. Then helps you set it up, from building a work bench with shelves and then a way to remove the air if you don't have a window in your area. From here it helps you build different lab equipment for your lab, such as a simple electric heater, alcohol lamp, drying and sterilizing oven, test tube racks, stands, beam balance and more. This book must have been a real gem back in it's day.

3) A Low Cost Approach to PCR - 1998 by Eva Harris:

This is a good book for the DIYBIO groups. The low cost approach outlined in this book can be useful for the DIYBIO group. It provides a description of the theoretical basis of the technique and practical details of the method. There is a section on materials and chemicals needed in your lab. A section on building your own equipment ie. electohoresis chamber, micro centrifuge, etc. A section on preparing your reagents. I believe a very useful book for the DIYBIO person.

Over Head Solution Mixer

2011-05-14T22:14:00.003-04:00

Over Head Solution Mixer

I have been away for awhile. Other things came up and I was unable get back to doing any science and or experimenting. Here is something I did put together this weekend.

Using an old single head mixer, a cocktail swivel stick (it has a propeller at the end of it), lab stand and clamp I am able to make a solution mixer (see second picture). This mixer or stirrer works over head of the solution. Solution container can be a beaker, jar, glass or anything else.

It is very simple to make. I had to heat the end of the swivel stick (the portion that goes into the mixer) and then take a pair of pliers to some what flatten the end to fit it into the notches of the mixer. This holds the stick in and allows for the mixer to spin it.

Other items can be used instead of the mixer, such as, electric screwdriver(very inexpensive to buy or can be found. Most people through them away when the batteries stop holding their charge.), electric motors(such as found in dollar store fans and electric toothbrushes), etc.

Future Projects

2010-12-13T11:02:00.004-05:00

Future Projects

I have been very busy lately and with Christmas coming I haven't had as much time to play around as I would like. But here is a list of projects I am working on:

1) converting an old fridge, the bottom section I will use it for chemicals storage unit and convert the top freezer compartment into an incubator.

2) build a flask and plate shaker from an old turntable

3) a roller from an old printer (it rotates and mixes solutions in tubes)

4) a new transfer (sterile) chamber

5) video add-on for the microscope

6) a new work area

So stay tuned in the new year and have a Merry Christmas.

More Lab Chemicals

2010-11-18T16:15:00.003-05:00

Here is more to add to the list of chemicals that you can collect for your home lab and where you might be able to get them:

Acetone - (H, D)
Alcohol – Isopropyl (D)
Aluminum potassium sulfate - Alum (G)
Ammonium carbonate - smelling salts (D)
Butane - lighter fluid (department stores)
Calcium Hydroxide - Garden lime (garden stores)
Calcium Oxide - quicklime (H)
Ferric Chloride – circuit board etching (electronics store)
Hydrogen Peroxide – (D)
Lead - fishing weights (sports stores)
Methanol – methyl hydrate solvent (paint stores)
Naphthalene - moth balls (Department stores)
Sulfuric acid - car battery acid (car supply)
Toluene – solvent (paint stores)

I will continue to look for everyday chemicals that can be used in a citizen of science's lab.

The Vortex Revisited

2010-10-20T00:41:00.009-04:00

The vortex revisited.

I improved the spinner of the vortex by using rubber instead of foam. In the upper picture you see all the parts necessary to finish the vortex. You need a blender, a nut and washer that fits on the spinning bar of the blender, a juice cap with a hole drilled through it off centre, the juice spout (the cap screws on this to close the spout)remove as much of the cardboard material around it as you can,and the rubber test tube cap from a florist (this is used for providing water for a single flower).

The juice cap is bolted down on the blender spinning bar. The rubber cap is positioned over the nut on the spinning bar. This gives us a place to put the test tube on when we vortex it. Now take the screw top spout and screw it into the cap. This holds the rubber cap in place and has a hole in it to allow the test tube to rest on the rubber. See second picture.

The cost of this vortex was absolutely free. It works very well. Now that I have it working I will clean it up and add it to my growing lab.

Lab Chemicals

2010-09-26T23:03:00.005-04:00

As can be seen above I don't keep large quantities of chemicals and all are labeled. Chemicals are the foundation of most labs and experiments. You will need at least some chemicals to do experiments.

Here is a small list of chemicals that you can collect for your home lab and where you might be able to get them. They will get you started:

G - grocery store
D - drug store
H - hardware store

Acetic Acid - pure white vinegar (G)
Aluminium - foil (G)
Ammonium Bicarbonate - spices (G)
Ammonium Chloride - soldering flux (electronics store)
Ammonium Hydroxide - household ammonia (D,H,G)
Aluminium Sulphate - (gardening store)
Ascorbic Acid - spices (G)
Boric Acid - ant and roach killer (H,G)
Calcium Carbonate - tums, chalk (D)
Calcium Chloride - drying agent (H)
Calcium Hypochlorite - bleaching powder (G)
Calcium Sulphate - plaster of paris (H)
Charcoal - (aquarium store)
Citric Acid - spices (G)
Copper - wire (H)
Copper Sulphate - drain cleaner (H)
Corn Starch - (D,G)
Denatured Alcohol - shellac thinner (H)
Glycerin - glycerol (D)
Hydrochloric Acid - muriatic acid (H)
Iron - steel wool, nails (H)
Manganese Dioxide - black material in regular batteries (D,H,G)
Magnesium Sulphate - epsom salts (D)
Sodium Bicarbonate - baking soda (G)
Sodium Bisulphate - Sani-Flush (H,G)
Sodium Borate - Borax (G)
Sodium Carbonate - washing soda (G)
Sodium Chloride - table salt non-iodized (G)
Sodium Hydroxide - Drano (H)
Sodium Silicate - crystal garden kits (toy store)
Sucrose - table sugar (G)
Trisodium Phosphate - TSP (G)
Turmeric - spices (G)
Zinc - metal found in regular batteries (D,H,G)

A Lab Vortex

2010-09-16T23:54:00.007-04:00

A Lab Vortex

When I was making the centrifuge I had to drill a hole through the center of the spinner bowl. The first time I drilled it was a little off center and it spun slightly off. This had given me an idea for building a lab vortex.

Using another blender that I found, a nut, washer, sponge foam and a juice container cap (from one of the many storage bins I made) I was able to make a lab vortex. I drilled a hole in the juice container cap slightly off center. Made a hole in the foam so that when the nut held the cap in place it would also hold the foam in place to. The washer was used under the cap to slightly raise the cap so it would not rub on the blender.

I want to make the vortex cap better and will experiment on fixing this. I was thinking that maybe a small suction cup may do a better job, but we will see. For the time being it works pretty well.

You can see in the pictures the parts used and the vortex working.

Water Bath

2010-08-31T16:02:00.004-04:00

Water Bath

At a Thrift Shop I found another aquarium heater for $2.00. I built a lab support stand from a piece of wood and a wooden dowel. Found the clamp and clamp holder at a surplus store for $2.00 each. A lab thermometer I already had. The Pyrex dish I have as well. The thermometer holder was made from a clothespin, plastic tube from a toy car and tape (I will add glue to make it permanent). The aquarium heater is placed in lab clamp and thermometer holder is placed in the clamp holder that clamped to the support stand. Then place all of this into a dish, beaker, etc. Make sure it is large enough to allow other lab equipment to sit in the water bath. And there you have a nice water bath for the lab.

You can use an aquarium thermometer instead of the lab one. You can find these at second-hand stores or in the trash or even buy a new very cheaply. I will be looking at using the slow cooker I found as a water bath as well. It does not have a way to set the temperature as easily as the above water bath can. It has 3 settings to use.

Water baths are a very important item in the lab and this was a relatively inexpensive way to make one.

More Of My Lab

2010-08-29T21:21:00.004-04:00

More of My Lab

This picture shows more of my lab. Most of my biological work gets done here.

Over the summer I have picked up many discarded items:

VCR's - they have motors that can move things and timers to set things up.
Blenders, slow cookers (maybe able to use for water baths), electric cup warmers (again use for water baths), aquarium and aquarium heaters.

A great book I found a bit out-dated: Recombinant DNA a Short Course by James Watson, John Tooze and David Kurtz. It is a short course on DNA manipulation, so far a very interesting read. I found this at a second hand book store for $1.00.

Another book I have read over the summer was "A Life Decoded" by Craig Venter. It deals with Venter's time dealing with the human genome group, as well as other parts of his life.

If you want plenty to read and watch, go to www.hhmi.org. There is so much there, so much information. You can even download their journal as PDF files. They have interactive labs, etc.

Power Supply

2010-07-08T23:52:00.003-04:00

Power Supply

I have been looking for a power supply for my electrophoresis other than batteries. I have been using an old train transformer, but it is very slow or 3 to 5 9 volt batteries, but is very costly. While searching the internet I found this:

www.science-projects.com/PowerSupply.htm

Now any time you play with a 120 volts you should be very careful. Here is a file for Basic Electrical Safety:

www.labtrain.noaa.gov/osha600/refer/menu12a.pdf

I will be building this power supply and trying it out. I will talk about this in a later post. If you build be very careful.

Building A Transfer Chamber

2010-06-27T20:58:00.005-04:00

Building A Transfer Chamber

A sterile environment is needed when working with microbes and tissues. A sterile environment greatly reduces the chance of contamination by other microbes and materials in the air. Here I make a simple transfer chamber from an old aquarium, an fluorescent light, plastic and tape.

The plastic is cut a little larger than the opening of the aquarium. This allows the plastic to fold around the edges where it is taped to the aquarium. I tape the plastic only half way down the sides of the aquarium. This allows for my hands and arms to enter the chamber. The fluorescent light sits on top of the aquarium to allow me to see inside.

I sterilize the inside of the chamber by wiping down all surfaces with 70% alcohol or Lysol. This is a very simple transfer chamber and can be made very easily. I have seen it made from clear tote boxes, etc. It is not the best of chambers but it will help cut down on contamination. Later I will discuss building a much better one. Again this was built from everything I already had or found.

The top picture shows the chamber setup in my lab. It is placed on a metal shelve. The shelve above it holds the incubator and a storage of petri-dishes.

The middle picture shows it put together.

The bottom picture shows the parts used to build the chamber - aquarium, plastic, light and tape.

More Science Kits (Electronic)

2010-05-11T15:14:00.003-04:00

Here you can see 3 different electronic kits, 2 of which I found at garage sales and one I found at a surplus store.

1) A 75 in-one kit. It is an older kit and was from Radio Shack.

2) A 130-in-one kit, again it came from the old Radio Shack stores. It to is an older kit.

Both of these were found at garage sales and cost very little to buy.

3) A 300-in-one kit(the white one). This is a new kit and it allows for the mounting of microchips and electronic parts. It was at a surplus store for about a third of the cost.

These kits are great. They allow you to put circuits together for testing without any soldering. It makes it easier to try different things without having to solder and desolder parts to see if they will work together. If you intend to build anything with electronics this is a good way to test it and I believe most labs should have one or two.

New Links - Videos, Games and Reading

2010-04-27T23:25:00.004-04:00

It has been awhile since I have posted. I have been very busy. Working on new projects, etc. I am posting some links I think will be of use to many people.

1) http://www.youtube.com/user/TheHomeScientist

This goes with the Make Science Room and the book Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments: All Lab, No Lecture. (Make: Books, 2008), which I have talked about in another post. He talks about making some chemicals form other chemicals to add to your lab, standardizing store bought chemicals, etc.
http://blog.makezine.com/science_room/

2) http://www.youtube.com/user/NurdRage

Another youtube creation on making your chemicals from easy to find substances in stores.

3) http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html

A free microscope magazine Micscape.

4) http://www.plos.org/journals/index.php

The Public Library of Science. You can read science journals for free.

5) http://fold.it/portal/

If you want to play around with and learn about folding proteins this is a lot of fun. Again it is free.

Enjoy there is much out there to look at and play with.

The Too Cool For School Art & Science Fair

2010-03-08T18:50:00.002-05:00

Here is an interesting site: The Too Cool For School Art & Science Fair . They want to bring art and science together. Have a look at it. If you live in Southern Ontario you might want to attend.

Do you seem to live in a different world from everyone around you? Do you spend your free time inventing, collecting, drawing, writing, theorizing, or somehow tinkering with your obsession?

Then we invite YOU to submit a project to the Too Cool for School Art & Science Fair!

The deadline for submissions is Friday, March 26, 2010.

The Too Cool For School Art & Science Fair will be a truly interdisciplinary event at which people from diverse fields share art and information and engage in friendly competition. The event is structured just like a school science fair — participants will display their projects on rows of tables. The difference, however, is that this event is as much about art as it is about science.

The fair is for all ages, with the one restriction being 15 years and older. Here is a link to the submission guideline page:

http://artandsciencefair.ca/call-for-submissions/

which is basically the following:

* one paragraph of 50 words or less describing your project
* one drawing or photograph describing your project
* one bio of 50 words or less describing yourself and your work, education and volunteer experience
* your contact information including mailing address, email and telephone number

Email submissions to info@artandsciencefair.ca

or

send by post to the following address
(no hand delivery, submissions will not be returned, must be postmarked no later than March 26 2010)

Visual Arts Department, Attn: Too Cool For School: 26/03/10
Harbourfront Centre
235 Queen’s Quay West
Toronto, ON
M5J 2G8

We will contact you by April 9, 2010 to let you know if your submission has been chosen. There is no entry fee. Participants will be selected on the basis of originality, depth of inquiry, visual or conceptual impact and creative innovation.

Gel Illumination Box

2010-02-28T13:39:00.004-05:00

I have put together some parts I hope to use in the making of a gel illumination box. I will use this to illuminate my gels (stained and partially stained gels) and/or chromatography papers to give me a clearer picture of my separation bands. Many times they are very hard to see.

The box is a cookie/candy tin with the lid having a see-through portion (you can take any cookie tin or box and cut out part of the lid). I will place a light (I found an old broken plastic Christmas candle and removed the light, switch and cord from on top of it) in side the tin. The on/off switch and cord are kept on the outside of the box (they will pass through a hole on a side wall). The see-through portion is made of clear plastic. It is not very rigid but is sturdy. I can lay gels or papers on it to let light pass through and give me a clearer picture of my separation bands.

I also have some white plastic used for shading fluorescent lighting that I found in the trash. I will use this to diffuse the light and as a support for the gels and papers. It will make for easier clean up as well.

Later I will post the finished product.

Gel Electrophoresis

2010-02-18T23:11:00.005-05:00

Top picture shows a gel electrophoresis chamber that came with the Discovery DNA Kit. The CSI DNA kit has one as well. The chamber uses 3 - 9 volt batteries. The gel is made using 9 ml of agar or agarose. It makes 3 wells for loading and runs from negative to positive. It is a nice little chamber and works well.

Here in the lower picture I bring together all the items I will need to put together a gel electrophoresis chamber of my own. This will allow me to add more wells and to place the wells in different spots on the gel.

I have a plastic bin for the chamber(this holds everything in place, the gel, sample, buffer and electrodes). I will use a plastic lozenges box for the gel chamber (you can use a soap dish or any other dish that will fit into the main chamber or box). You cut the ends off the lozenges box and use either masking tape or I will try and use Glad press and seal on the ends to form the gel. The styrofoam will be used to make a comb to form the wells in the gel. I will cut out a few different ones. The aluminum will be placed on the inside sides of the large box on opposite ends and will be used as electrodes. I will look for some stainless steal nails or screws to replace the aluminum.

To power the electrophoresis I will be using a old model train transformer that I found and repaired. It goes from 0 - 21 volts, not nearly enough voltage but it will do until I can come up with something better. Or I could use 3-5 9 volt batteries for the power supply.

You can see a couple of packages of agar-agar that I found at an Asian store. These will be used for the gel. I do have some powdered agarose (but not much about 1.5 gm) that I will compare with the agar-agar in my tests.

Here are some web sites that may help in constructing the gel electrophoresis:

http://www.scq.ubc.ca/the-macgyver-project-genomic-dna-extraction-and-gel-
electrophoresis-experiments-using-everyday-materials/

http://hackteria.org/wiki/index.php/DIY_$25_Gel_Box

http://makezine.com/07/fingerprinting/

Density Meter

2010-01-14T00:33:00.003-05:00

I found this in (drawing above) "The Amateur Scientist" by C.L.Stong - chapter on How to Cultivate Harmless Bacteria. It is a light meter for measuring the density of bacterial growth.

Using the items found in the above picture I hope to build this for my use in measuring yeast growth in my experiments. I have collected a box (this one is wood, it can be card board or plastic), the cover should keep out any light. I have a laser pointer as my light source (the original uses a light bulb, if the laser doesn't work, I will use a light bulb). A lens is used to focus the light beam, therefore, giving a more pinpoint concentration of light. A solar cell rated at 5 volts will measure the intensity of the light coming through the sample. The less the growth, more of the light reaches the panel. The volt meter will be connected to the solar panel which will give me my readings.

I will look into hooking it up to my homemade laptop oscillscope so I can record my measurements. I will post the finished meter later when I have worked it out.

Centrifuge Revisited

2009-11-26T23:03:00.008-05:00

I have been asked to talk more about how I put together my centrifuge.

In the first picture the centrifuge is partly disassembled. The blender, 2 large salad bowls, small metal mixing bowl, 2 toothbrush travel holders(tops), 2 small angle bars with 1 hole at each end, 4 screws, nuts and lock washers and 2 plastic adjustable ties, 4 clips(to hold salad bowls together when spinning), fishing weights and foam(for inside bottom of tube holders not seen) and duct tape.

The second shows where I cut the upper wall of the blender to flatten and level out the top so the metal dish can spin without touching anything.

In the third picture I put the tube holder put together. I measured the height of the side hole(this is important must be the same for both holders) and drilled this hole slightly larger then the screw. I screwed the angle iron on the tube holder with the screw head on the inside so that it is flat on the inside of the holder. I used a lock washer to tighten it properly. Then I used a plastic adjustable tie to support and steady the tube. Then I did the same for the second holder. Using a balance, some foam and a bit of lead(fishing weights) I balanced each one with the other so they offset each other.

In picture 4 I drilled a hole in the center of the metal dish. This must be done carefully because if not exactly centered it will wobble. First time I used a drill and vise to hold the bowl and did not get it right. Second time I used a drill press and a drill press vise to center the bowl and this time it worked. Now place this on the blender and make sure it spins evenly before going on to the next step. Next you have to drill the side holes for the tube holders(again use a drill press and vise if possible to keep everything steady, you don't want the holes to be of different sizes this could add a weight imbalance by taking off too much from 1 side than the other) . Again you must measure correctly to offset each holder on opposite ends. Now place this on the blender and make sure it spins evenly before going on to the next step. Now put the bowl and holders together.

Next I cut out a large hole in the center of one of the salad bowls. This will fit over and sit on the blender. I used duct tape to hold the bowl in place. Now I placed the tube holder and small bowl on the blender and secured it in place with the blender center piece(shown in the third picture). I placed the 2nd salad bowl on top of the 1st salad bowl edge to edge with the bottom of the bowl pointed up. I used the clips to hold it in place.

Then I tried it out. I do not recommend trying this with out the salad bowls in place. If anything goes flying this should hopefully protect you. Remember be careful when building and using a centrifuge they can be very dangerous. So create at your own risk and I am not responsible for any injuries from building or using a homemade centrifuge.

Stir Plate

2009-10-15T00:42:00.004-04:00

Using a candy dish, a fan from an old computer, 2 fridge magnets, a variable resister (old radio volume control), a toggle switch, a 9 volt battery and connector (old radio), some wire (old telephone wire), 4 screws and 8 nuts I was able to build a stir plate. Every part was found from thrown away items and electronics.

The only tools used are drill with bits to cut the holes for mounting the fan, mounting the switch and mounting the resistor. 2 small files, 1 flat for the surface and 1 round for the edges of the holes. Soldering iron for the electronic connections and contact cement for the magnets.

It works well. You can find other directions for building a stir plate on the internet. What I did was very simple, about an hour to put together and totally free.

Useful and Deleted Links

2009-10-08T14:37:00.014-04:00

The Other night I was checking my Links list and found the link to Constructing Inexpensive Lab Equipment no longer works. I hope people have downloaded the files and saved them or printed them out. That is why it is often a good idea to print the pages of a web site up or make sure you download any information needed because you never know how long a site will stay up.

I have found 3 useful links for older books that where used in building lab equipment and to do experiments from. They are:

1)The New Unesco Source Book for Science Teaching. Is sort of different edition of the book 700 Science Experiments for Everyone. I am not sure if this book is out of print. A look online and you can still find this brand new. I haven't been able to find a pdf or site for the original book.

unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0000/000056/005641E.pdf

2)The Scientific American Book of Projects. This book is out of print and is a very interesting book.

www.sciencemadness.org/
library/books/projects_for_the_amateur_scientist.pdf

3)The Make Science Room. It is related to the book "Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments" by Robert Bruce Thompson that I talked about in an earlier post:

http://blog.makezine.com/science_room/

I am glad I found the first 2 because I have the books and I would rather read through the PDF files instead of my old books. It is too easy to damage them.

Again make sure to get it while they are up, you don't know how long that will be.

DIY Incubator

2009-10-02T13:31:00.011-04:00

I have received email asking me to talk more about the incubator I was putting together. In the picture to the left you can see all the parts I use to build my incubator. The Styrofoam cooler I found on garbage day, but you can pick one up very cheaply. I use this right now to test the whole operation of the incubator. I have a plastic cooler that I will use for my lab. It is much easier to clean and sterilize the plastic.

For the heating I am using an aquarium heater to keep a constant temperature. I use a CPU fan from an old computer to circulate the air over the heater. I power it with the power supply from this old computer. There are many parts that can be used from old electronics. The old computers themselves can be used for programming and hardware builds and you do not need to worry about damaging them.

I found a kitchen cupboard organizer at a department store. This allows me to separate plates, tubes and flasks so the air can circulate around them giving me a stable temperature all around. A multi-meter with temperature measurement was found in a surplus store. This allows me to monitor the temperature without me constantly opening the incubator.

In the picture top right you see the incubator put together with some plates in it. The heater is attached to the cupboard organizer. This keeps it out of the way.

Crystal Kits and More

2009-08-24T14:07:00.004-04:00

Seen here are a couple of crystal growing kits I picked up from a discount store for $5.00 each. When I was younger I always enjoyed growing crystals. I had a crystal growing kit from the Mr. Wizard (Don Herbert) science sets.

I found the Discovery DNA Kit (seen in the picture). It was not working but I took it apart and found a connection was missing, a bit of solder and wire and it works fine. You can see this in the picture of my lab from an earlier post. It is like the CSI DNA kit.

Other things I have found. From the flee market I picked up a double height wooden test-tube rack, 50 test-tubes of 3 different sizes and a round bottom flask 3000 ml. All this for under $10.00.

From the trash I found a glass aquarium. It is large enough to be used as a sterile transfer chamber for my micro work. Laying it on it's side and putting a cover over the mouth and using Lysol or alcohol to spray I should be able to sterilize the inside of it. Using the glass side to look through I should be able to transfer my cultures in a sterile environment. I got this idea from an old Amateur scientist column where they build one out of wood and a glass top.

Also from the trash I found an old hair dryer and an old model train transformer. The transformer was not working, but after taking it apart I found all the connections had fallen apart from age. I soldered a new cord (from the old hair dryer, keep the heating wire from the dryer it my come in handy later on) on to it and it is working fine. It goes from 0 to 21 volts. I will try to use this as a power supply for my electrophoresis. It is not as high as I would like but I have been using 3 - 9 volt batteries and they use up fast. The dryer also has a switch that may be used later.

The Lego MindStorms Kit

2009-08-17T15:14:00.002-04:00

I received this as Christmas gift. It was greatly reduced. It is an older kit and was found at a clearance store. I have been visiting a few sites that talk about using this kit for building laboratory equipment.

Here is one site:

http://groups.google.com/group/diybio/browse_thread/thread/3c31273ee058364b#

Here is another:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pbAH9TiGqs

And another(this is just using Lego):

http://www.instructables.com/id/Lego-Microtome/

I like DNA science (DNA extraction, there is many sites and recipes for this) and DIYBIO (do it yourself biology) and I have looked into PCR (polymerase chain reaction) which is the copying of DNA. Basically with the right chemicals and the heating and cooling of the DNA you can take a small amount of DNA and make more for testing. So to do this manually you would take your sample and transfer it from a hot water bath to a cold water bath many times or you could buy a thermocycler (which usually is expensive).

So what I am looking into doing is building an arm from the Lego Mindstorm kit to take my sample from one bath to the other at the right timing sequence.

I will be doing more searches on uses for this kit and posting my progress on the development of this project.

Low-tech Gadgets and Solutions

2009-07-30T23:33:00.004-04:00

Here is a web page with some low-tech gadgets and solutions. The use of ordinary items to use in a lab setting.

http://bitesizebio.com/2009/04/13/low-tech-lab-gadgets-and-solutions-my-all-time-favs/

From the web site:

For the record, as well as loving Red Dwarf, I’m a huge fan of MacGyver, the TV secret agent who could build any device from everyday items found in the room.

You name it…he could build it in 60 seconds or less using only the chewing gum and dental floss found in his pocket, escape impending demise, and have enough time left over to catch the bad guy as well.

As a result, one of my favorite things in the world is to be like MacGyver and figure out a cheaper or faster way to make or do something useful using everyday items.

So here is my top ten list of favorite lab MacGyverisms; ways to use everyday items to make gadgets and low-tech solutions for the lab that I’ve accumulated over my many years of working as a lab rat and writing tech articles.

10. Scoops or Measuring Cups = no more weighing. Do you weigh out yeast extract, NaCl, and agar for each bottle when preparing media? Save time by weighing the amount of powder that fits in a measuring cup or scoop and then adjust the volume of media in each of your flasks.

Designate one scoop for each powder added and just put one scoop of each per bottle. Weigh once…scoop forever after.

9. Straws = free pasteur pipettes. Plastic straws lifted from fast-food chains can be used for dilutions and innoculations. This may take some experimentation, but I have done this for making hundreds of innoculations for a screening assay without ever having to buy expensive plastic pipettes.

Of all the varieties I tested, McD straws are the best and will actually survive autoclaving (wrapped in bunches of 20 inside aluminum foil!).

The trick is to use a consistent size test tube for dilutions and adjust the volume so that, when the straw is placed into the tube, almost exactly 0.5-1.0 ml ends up in the straw.

You then place your finger over the open end and transfer the liquid. To release the payload, take your finger off the top.

In a similar vein, don’t forget about toothpicks or wooden stir sticks for replica plating.

8. Spaghetti Colander = no more dropped gels. Instead of using a spatula to move your gels from stain to rinse solutions and risk dropping your gel on the floor (butter-side down, of course), use a small plastic colander fitted inside of a bowl, and several bowls of the same size for the washes. That way you can just pick up the colander and move it to the next wash station.

7. Body wash or shampoo = cheap blot washes. Cheap liquid soap can be used for washings. Shampoo contains Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and can substitute for expensive wash solutions in many types of blots.

Don’t forget that you can use zip-loc baggies instead of a seal-a-meal for hybs too. To get all the air bubbles out, place a hollow stir straw in the corner and make sure all the bubbles go out the straw as you zip it up. Then slide the straw out while you cinch up the last little corner.

6. Instant Milk = long life blocking agent. Powdered milk or cream liquor can be used as a casein-enriched blocking agent for your blots. It may not be any cheaper to use Bailey’s Blotting Juice, but there is an obvious added advantage, plus you never have any stale leftovers.

5. Petroleum Jelly = super-cheap hot start. ‘A little dab’ll do ya’ to “hot start” your Polymerase Chain Reactions. [see Horton et al, 1994]

4. Coffee Grinder = personal minifuge. You can use an old coffee grinder as a mini-centrifuge by modifying it to have rings for holding two eppendorf tubes for quick spins. An old-fashioned hand crank mixer or egg beater also works for this application.

If you use duct tape (not on the list since it is so obvious!) to hold it on a C-clamp, you can screw it onto the lab bench in any convenient location.

3. Toothpaste = DIY miniprep matrix. Some brands of toothpaste contain diatomacieous earth (Celite) as an abrasive. I’ve not tried this myself, but rumor has it that you can separate out the particles and use them as a matrix for binding DNA in mini-preps.

2. Furniture polish = fresh-smelling and silanized plates. Instead of using Rain-X for silanizing glass plates for polyacrylamide gels, use furniture polish. Spray on, wipe off. You also gain points for doing all the lab benches along the way, and extra credit for using the lemon scented variety to freshen up the place.

And the number one low-tech gizmo of all-time is…

1. Record player = shaking incubator. Bob Horton’s homemade shaking incubator was fashioned out of an old-time record player. The plans were originally posted to the bionet methods and reagents bulletin board and highlighted in my monthly column in TiBS under the subtitle “Spin Doctor” [see Hengen, 1996].A classic MacGyverism.

So what ingenious low-tech solutions do you use in your lab?

References:

1. Horton RM, Hoppe BL, Conti-Tronconi BM. 1994. AmpliGrease: “hot start” PCR using petroleum jelly. Biotechniques 16:42-43.

2. Hengen PN. 1996. Methods and reagents. Eliminating banding artifacts from SDS-PAGE. Trends in Biochemical Sciences 21:191-193.

Books

2009-06-25T23:26:00.003-04:00

It has been awhile since I added any information. I have spent some time in building my incubator. Testing it out exactly. I will be placing the fish tank heater into a glass dish of water to heat the incubator. I tested this out and it seems to work quite well. I will add either some copper sulphate or aquarium anti-microbial solution to the water to keep microbial life from growing in the glass dish. I need to come up with some shelves to hold plates, tubes and flasks at different heights in the incubator. I will post a final picture of the incubator when it is finished.

For father's day I received a wonderful book titled: Build-it-Yourself Science Laboratory by Raymond E. Barrett. It was published in 1963. It shows you how to build all kinds of lab equipment, for chemistry, physics, and biology. It even has questions to answer by scientific experimentation after each section. We need a book like this today for building our own labs.

Other books I have picked up for my growing library:

Magic with Chemistry by Edward L. Palder 1964.

150 Science Experiments Step-By-Step by Judith Viorst 1963.

Physics, Fun and Beyond by Eduardo de Campos Valadares 2006.

The Thomas Edison book of Easy and Incredible Experiments by the Thomas Alva Edison Foundation 1988.

Basic Chemistry Experiments: A Golden Hobby Book by Robert Brent 1965 edition.

So now I have many more books to add to my collection and more experiments to try out.

2009-06-25T23:26:00.000-04:00

Support Stand, Test Tubes and More

2009-05-31T23:44:00.003-04:00

In picture #11 I quickly build this support stand from a curtain rod, some wood, coat hanger, clothespins and some screws. This support stand was built from a 10" x 6", 1" thick base of wood and a small 2" x 4" support. The rod is a curtain rod that slides into itself. I cut it down to the length I wanted it to open to. Picture #11b-c - Using a coat hanger I shaped a clamp or holder to fit the mouth end of my light bulb flask. Picture #11d - Using clothespins I make another clamp that can hold smaller objects such as glass tubes, funnel tubes or thermometer.

You can see in the pictures the flask and a thermometer being supported by this stand. It was very simple to make, it is adjustable, you can make it go higher or lower and best of all it is inexpensive. It worked very well. I intend to make some more, some smaller, some bigger and some with 2 or more rods attached to the base.

As stated before when you decide to build your own lab let family and friends know so they can collect items for you. In picture #12 you see a pile of tubes. The small ones are what some florists use for single flowers to keep them wet. The medium tubes are cigar tubes and the large ones held soap powder. All came from friends keeping these when they were done with them. Now all of these tubes are made of plastic but they are still good for mixing, centrifuging, and storing.

Also in this picture you see a couple of pieces of glass that I cut from larger glass plates. The larger one I use for chopping material up in my DNA extraction experiments. The smaller one covers my glass furniture coaster petri dish. These and others come from glass found in old thrown away picture frames that I found on garbage day.

For The DIYBIO Lab

2009-05-11T19:26:00.002-04:00

As seen in picture #10 I found an old cooler out in my neighbour hood during garbage day. I hope to use the cooler and the aquarium heater to build an incubator for my cultures (bacterial or yeast and hopefully one day tissue). I picked up the heater and the pressure cooker from a second hand store for less than $10.00. The pressure cooker will be used to sterilize my culture media, water, etc. I will use an oven too sterilize my glassware and bleach for my plasticware. I found agar agar for my cultures and electrophoresis from an Indian grocery store. The microscope glass slide box is made from a cardboard box that is slightly wider than the slides. The slides are then separated on the sides by the perforated cardboard (some cookie bags have ribbed paper that can be sized and used to separate the slides) ripped apart and glued to the sides. This box cost me nothing to build.

You can also see on the side I found a new kit to play with. The DNA Wizard, I think adding this with the CSI DNA Laboratory I an do some DIYBIO (Do It Yourself Biology). Something I am very interested in (I should talk more about the CSI kit on a later date). The DNA Wizard has a few good things in it IE. build your own model of DNA, chromosome typing, DNA extraction and bacterial growth. It supplies you with many things to use including the bacteria. I bought it for $10.00 so it was not to bad, but at it's regular cost of $40.00 that is a bit too much. Most of what is in the kit can be picked up at home and at toy stores, except the bacteria. And that can be found in nature. A good book for doing DIYBIO is "Biotechnology Projects For Young Scientists" by Kenneth Rainis and George Nassis 1998. I have this on my library list.

I think it might be time to discuss some of the different books and links that I have found and use. Hopefully I can write about some of these in the next couple of posts.

More Inexpensive Lab Equipment

2009-05-11T11:35:00.002-04:00

Here I build some very inexpensive lab equipment. Basically it was all free. You can't do any better than that.

In picture #7 I build flasks out of old light bulbs. Bend back the soft metal tip on the end of the bulb with a pair of pliers. Twist the metal piece so it breaks off. There is a small hole in the top of the bulb. Use a screwdriver to break the black substance away. Be careful to not break the bulb itself. If you have trouble breaking the black substance break it off with a pair of needle-nose pliers. Once the black substance is all broken away use a screwdriver to break the glass holding the filament. Shake out the bulb. Take some water and an old toothbrush and clean out the white film in the bulb. The metal screw top is sturdy enough to hold a cork or rubber stopper. And now we have a very inexpensive flask.

In picture #8 I build some wooden racks(again this is wood I found will walking around on garbage day). One is for test-tubes and the other lower profile one is used to hold many other items for easy access. The plastic dish soap bottles are thoroughly washed out and can hold regular water, distilled water or any other liquids you wish to dispense very easily. They have push down lids so if they are knocked over they will not spill.

Old Magazines

2009-03-24T13:43:00.003-04:00

This past weekend I was cleaning the basement and found a couple of boxes full of old magazines. One box had old Astronomy magazines. The other one had old Scientific American magazines, I kept these for the Amateur Scientists column. Also in this box was Science Probe - The Amateur Scientist's Journal. I have 8 issues of Science Probe, I am not sure how many were released. I believe that a new journal for Amateur scientist's should be released again. There is Make magazine and it is a wonderful magazine, but it does not have enough science related articles. I have tried to search for Science Probe on the net but have found very little about it.

Also in this box is the CD of the Scientific American - The Amateur Scientist 2.0 - the complete collection. I can't remember what company this was purchased from. It has all the experiments from the Scientific American - The Amateur Scientist column. It is quite a treasure to find. Along with this I have the book "The Amateur Scientist" by C.L.Stong and "The Amateur Biologist" by Shawn Carlson. The CD contains old experiments with old information but a lot of the biology and chemistry experiments can still be done. The other experiments that include electronics and hardware that you may not find anymore may be hard to do or will require some tinkering to make happen. One thing I would like to do is create the electron microscope and attach it to a computer. I have always wanted to play with an electron microscope. I think you can still get the CD from the Society for Amateur Scientists. They can be found at sas.org.

I will be spending the next little while looking through this little piece of treasure that I found and dream of my next experiments.

My Lab

2009-03-20T18:41:00.004-04:00

This is a picture of my lab right now. It is some what cluttered. I have small and large bins, parts drawers. They hold all kinds of things, such as rubber stoppers, corks, magnets, marbles, Y tubes, connecting tubes, lenses, etc. There is a couple of shelves that hold chemicals. The top shelve (not pictured) holds lab equipment.

In picture 9) on the right side you see I cut out the tops of juice and milk containers and used them as bins. They are placed in a metal shelving unit with the shelves about 1 foot apart. They hold all sorts of lab items. Test tubes, petri dishes, glass casters, cheese cloth, cotton balls and pads, electronics, plastic and glass jars, etc. The good thing about these is I can keep collecting filling them as I go along and they are free.

More Lab Equipment

2009-02-02T16:27:00.001-05:00

By visiting second hand stores I have found a good collection of lab glassware and other lab equipment. It usually takes many trips before you might find something of use. I did find some great pieces of labware: 10 glass petri dishes that cost $1.00 each, 4 400 ml. beakers at $1.00 each and different flasks and test tubes.

In picture # 5 I found a box of glass furniture casters in the trash. These can be used as petri dishes, test dishes, animal dishes such as brine shrimp etc.

In picture # 4 I built some funnel stands from coat hangers and lab stands from 1/2 inch dowelling and 1 inch wood. They work great for supporting flasks, beakers and evaporating dishes while heating them.

In picture # 6 (not a very good picture) I show a laptop that was thrown out and some software and microphone that I put together as an oscilloscope. The software came from a book Electronic circuits for the evil genius : [57 lessons with projects] / Dave Cutcher. He even shows you how to create a test cable for the scope.

New Books

2009-01-28T23:40:00.001-05:00

For Christmas this year I received 3 books about experimenting.

The first is 'Backyard Ballistics' by William Gurstelle, there are some 13 ballistic devices to create from household items. I have not had a real chance to look at this book, I will spend more time with it in the spring when the snow is gone.

The second book is 'Secret Science: 25 Science Experiments Your Teacher Doesn't Know About', By Steve Spangler. It has some interesting chemistry and physics experiments, from the new and exciting Mentos geyser to the Flying potatoes and exploding soda.

The final book is the most interesting and one of the most useful to the home experimenter. 'The Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments' by Robert Bruce Thompson. This book shows you how to set up home lab, the different lab equipment needed and the chemicals used. The experiments are a great for learning the basics of chemistry experimentation. The section on handling chemicals safely is a must to have. Using the colour codes to distinguish apart the different types of chemicals and their disposal. The only thing I found disappointing is he did not talk about building a lab from scratch, but to purchase all the equipment needed for the experiments. This can be costly and the idea behind this blog is to build a home lab cheaply and to recycle most anything to build it.

Some Inexpensive Equipment

2008-12-02T01:24:00.002-05:00

Several different items that you can collect and then create items from. Here in photo 1) you see juice cartons. If you clean them out they can make great storage containers, they are strong and durable and later when I have enough I will make a box that will house these cartons so I can use them for drawers. As you can see I cut a hole all the way around leaving about a half inch lip. This allows other cartons to sit on top of each other. Inside this one I have some old blown light bulbs. I hope to use these to make some flasks and dishes. I will post how this works out. I have collected about 20 of these bulbs so far. Remember I am trying to create my lab inexpensively.

In photo 2) you can see I am using travel soap dishes. They sell 2 for a dollar at the Dollar stores. You can stack them one on top of the other. They can hold electronics, corks, stoppers, marbles, litmus paper, etc. These containers can be used to make an electrophoresis chamber and a host of other containers such as housing for animals such as snails, worms, etc.

In photo 3) I make a centrifuge from a blender(found on garbage day in my neighbourhood), 2 large fruit bowls(chamber and lid), 3 large paper clips(to keep lid closed), metal bowl(center spin), 2 toothbrush holders(holds the test tubes or centrifuge tubes while spinning), 2 angle bars(hold the tooth brush holders to the metal bowl), 4 screws and nuts and 2 wire ties(are used to hold the tooth brush holders in place). This cost me $5.00 to put together, most items are found at the dollar store or around the house. Now you have to be careful when drilling the center hole in the metal bowl, it must be in the center exactly or you will get a wobble and your centrifuge will fly off your bench. The tooth brush holders need to be mounted exactly opposite each other and all parts between the 2 must have the same weight to balance it off.

These 3 items are just the beginning, I hope to continue creating my lab from inexpensive items such as these.

The Dollar Stores

2008-11-25T16:34:00.005-05:00

I have found many items from the Dollar Stores. Here is a few of the items.

Chemicals:

1) Salt
2) Sugar
3) Epsom Salts
4) Baking soda
5) Baking powder
6) Vinegar
7) Acetone (fingernail polish remover)
8) Moth Balls
9) Lemon Juice
10) Alcohol 50%
11) Hydrogen Peroxide 3%
12) Batteries
13) Glow in the dark bracelets
14) Drain Cleaner
15) Different types of soap (detergent, shampoo, dish, etc.)
16) Fishing weights (might be lead)
17) Aluminum foil

Supplies:

1) Glass bowls
2) Custard cups with lids
3) Measuring cups (plastic)
4) Coffee filters
5) Spice jars
6) Digital timers
7) Butter knifes (Spatula for chemicals)
8) Metal spoons
9) Hard cover lab books
10) Cutting boards
11) Storage jars
12) Tiny plastic shot glasses
13) Plastic animal containers (fish tanks, etc.)
14) Magnifying glass and lenses
15) Glass plates (from picture frames)
16) Plastic plates (from picture frames)
17) Parts and supply holders (plastic bins)
18) Plastic funnels
19) Marbles
20) Tape (masking, scotch, etc.)

I will continue to add to the list in the future.

Putting It Together

2008-11-11T00:42:00.000-05:00

By now I have picked up a lot of items. I have built a 5 ft. x 2ft. work bench. (I will show you a diagram of the bench so you can put one together too) Underneath it I have placed an old night stand someone threw out. With other wood I built a book case and put shelves above the bench (these are made from bi-fold doors). I found 4 broken metal shelving units and made them into 2 full units.

All this was found while walking around my neighbourhood. I also found a couple of blenders. I want to turn one into a centrifuge. I will show pictures of this as I put it together.

Other things to collect: Jars and bottles, plastic, toys, milk and juice cartons (used for storage filing boxes), cardboard boxes, jugs, light bulbs(the old kind, these can used to make flasks and round bottom dishes), coat hangers, toothpicks, plastic tubing, soda straws, plastic squeeze bottles (dish washing soap), clothespins, plasticine, paper clips, foam meat trays, scotch tape, masking tape, duct tape, glass (from picture frames) and batteries (source of carbon rods and zinc and manganese dioxide). A lot of this I was able to collect from family and friends, some I picked up at the dollar store, which by the way has many items you can use in the lab.

Chemicals you can find at the Dollar Store, grocery store, drug store or hardware stores are:
Aluminum (foil), Ammonia (ammonium hydroxide), Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate),Borax (sodium borate), Bleach (Sodium hypochlorite), Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate), Glycerin (glycerol), Iron filings, Moth balls (naphthalene), Hydrogen peroxide, Plaster of Paris (calcium sulfate), Table salt (sodium chloride), Sugar (sucrose), Starch, Vinegar (acetic acid), citric acid, ascorbic acid, TSP (tri-sodium phosphate) and plain chemical batteries (carbon rods and zinc and manganese dioxide).

I stored many of my chemicals in spice jars, they are a good size and cheap to come by. Well now I have some lab equipment, chemicals, work space, books and odds and ends. Time to do some experiments.

Starting To Put It Together

2008-11-11T00:32:00.003-05:00

Where To Begin

2008-10-19T22:09:00.003-04:00

As you begin to create your lab there certain things you should try to have on hand. Get a computer, printer and a scanner. This will allow you to photocopy and print articles and papers you get from books and magazines from the library. The library should become your best friend. They will have many of the older and newer books on hand. You can order from one library to be sent to the library closest to you. Libraries also have yearly sales on books, you can pick up some great buys there. Two of the books on my list I found at a library sale, The Amateur Biologist and Biotechnology Projects for Young Scientists, They cost $2.00 each. You should try to have an Internet connection if possible. There is plenty of help on the Internet. Just reading this blog you have to have access to the Internet. Under my Useful Links category the Constructing Inexpensive Lab Equipment link takes you to a pile of PDF files that can help you with the construction of many pieces of lab equipment for Biology, Chemistry and Physics. I recommend you print them out or store the PDF files for later use, you never know when a site will go down. Therefore print out anything you find on the Internet.

Let family and friends know you are creating a new hobby, they will be a great help. When I told my parents that I was building a home lab again they told me they had some of my old books from before. They are The Amateur Scientist, which must be the bible for amateur scientists (it is old 1960, I would really like to attempt some of the projects, except using the materials found today), Explorations In Chemistry (which is a great book on learning chemistry), The Living Laboratory 200 Experiments for Amateur Biologists (wonderful experiments in animal biology) and Microbe Hunters (an excellent account of the beginning of microbiology). You can find more info about these books in the categories section of my blog.

One thing I do recommend is you start to walk around your neighbourhood on garbage days, you won't believe what you can find. I have found lots of wood to build shelves and tables, desks, chairs, wire, lots of computers, printers, VCR's, DVD players and many other electronics. Most computers are old but can be used for experiments to build scientific equipment such as sensors, etc(you won't have to worry about damaging these older machines). I found an old laptop and some software on the Internet and turned it into an oscilloscope, something I always wanted to play with but could not afford.

I am now well on my way to put together a pretty good start to my lab.

More Chemistry Sets and Books

2008-09-29T11:15:00.002-04:00

As you can see I did manage to get 2 more chemistry sets. The first is a Smithosian Microchemistry set. It has almost everything it came with in it. I found it at a yard sale and paid $5.00 for it. It only has a small amount of chemicals, as per microchemistry. The other one I found in an antique show at our mall. It is a Porter Chemcraft Chemistry set from the 1950's or 60's. It has most of its chemicals, test tubes, burner, scale, test tube racks, etc.

You can see on the right side bottom of the page 3 new categories 1)Books for Experimenting- This will cover books I find and can get my hands on, whether purchased or borrowed from the library. This will contain old books and hopefully many newer books that pertain to today's science. 2) Useful Links - will contain links I find useful in building my amateur's lab. 3) Historical Books - books about science and the scientist's work.

I will talk more about these books and links later.

Old Chemistry Sets

2008-09-20T20:12:00.003-04:00

It has been a long time since I have written here. I began to look at ways of putting together a nice amateur lab to play with. I managed to find a couple of old chemistry sets. One on eBay. The Mr. Wizard Chemistry set. I had one when I was a kid many, many years ago. I always loved to watch his science shows and read some of his science books from our public library. I was quite surprised to find this kit. Now eBay maybe a good source for things but be careful. It is a nice kit, but shipping was expensive. The kit was $10.00, shipping ended up being $12.00. Still for $22.00 that is not bad, except when the kit arrived there wasn't to much of the chemicals left. I did get some glassware, flask, beaker, 8 test-tubes, test-tube stand, alcohol burner, balance, experiment book, etc.

The second one is a Merit chemistry set 50, I think this was a Salter chemistry set when I was younger. I found this at a flee market for $3.00 fully sealed. Now this was a great bargain, it came with 8 different chemicals, test-tubes, watch glass, glass and rubber tubing, etc.

You can see a picture of both sets at the side. So far I believe I am off to a good start on putting together my science lab.

Continued

2007-07-03T14:19:00.004-04:00

About a year ago I picked up the book Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks. It was a wonderful read. It brought back memories of when I was younger and frequently stunk up my parents basement. I began to get the urge to begin experimenting again. Just after that I received another book called Time, Love, Memory by Jonathan Weiner. It talked about a biologist and his work on genetics and the fruit fly. I thought wow an amateur scientist should be able to do this in their own lab at home. I really like genetics, it seems so interesting.

So that is when I decided to try and build my own amateur science lab to play around in. I do not have alot of money so I had to be careful with what I went and bought. I began to search toy and department stores to see what was available in science kits. I figured it would be easier if I started out with a science or chemistry set and then added on to it myself. What a suprise I found. The chemistry sets were terrible, hardly any chemicals, no glassware, nothing. Microscopes were just as bad, cheap optics and made out of plastic. I could not believe how far we have regressed in our science teachings. So now I must build my lab another way.
So basically this is the story of how I will build my lab from what ever I could find to do my experiments. Basically the old fashion way as scientists back in the early times built most of thier own equipment. I will be keeping notes on what I find, where I find them, websites that help me, books and magazines that I come across and kits that are useful to the amateur scientist.

I hope others will follow my exploits and enjoy it as much as I will.

Build it Yourself Science Laboratory

2007-06-25T16:16:00.001-04:00

I will use this blog site as a way to log my development of an amateur science laboratory. This site may help teachers and others to learn and teach about science. They can take some of the ideas and apply it for themselves.