How to make agar plates

In this article, we will be working on making agar plates. The purpose of such a plate is to grow organisms and experiment.
The required materials are

• Plates
• LB agar media
• Scale
• A glass bottle
• Gloves

Put gloves on and measure out the LB agar needed onto the scale. This will vary, but start with 6.3 grams. Next, add agar to the glass bottle
and then add water. This will vary, however start with 125 mL of water and then shake the bottle until the solution is dissolved

Loosen the cap to where it allows air through, but is attached and place in the microwave for increments of 10 – 30 seconds each. Very important that the solution should not over boil and leak out of the bottle

Allow the bottle to rest for 2 – 3 minutes to cool down. Once cool, ensure that you have your gloves on and set up the plates in a row on a work table.

Start filling in the plates. Only add enough, evenly distributed, so that the agar covers the bottom of the plate. When finished, allow to cool as it will solidify. It will look something like this. Notice how there are no clumps. This means that it was properly dissolved in the microwave.

If storing them in the fridge, make sure to turn them upside down so that condensation does not drip back onto the agar. Once the agar has solidified, it is ready for use

When conducting an experiment, use a black magic marker on the back of the plate to mark what you are doing, date, etc, to help separate them for other plates that may be in other experiments.

Now you have agar plates ready for your experiments! The main supplier that we use at the pickle factory is https://www.the-odin.com/all-products/. They sell the equipment, supplies and classes on how to use it all.