Year 11 Biology Outing

On the 17th of October the new Year 11 AS Biology class embarked on an exciting educational trip to UCT’s microbiology lab. As promised by Dr Rat, it was set to be a remarkably insightful off-campus excursion – and it did not disappoint!

We split into 3 groups and then rotated through the lab, having the privilege of being spoken to by four different scientists, each specialising in different aspects of microbiology. We  started off with a general lab tour, where we specifically focused on the various sample preparation techniques used to magnify tiny microorganisms, and different textile materials. We were lucky enough to see many different pieces of lab equipment that we had studied over the course that we had not yet witnessed in real life.

We were then treated to a small experiment that seemed as if it had come straight from a movie set! We looked at the different methods to freeze organisms within seconds, using substances such as dry ice and ethane to achieve this. 

However, the highlight of the outing was still to come. We were led to a dark room housing a state of the art transmission electron microscope (TEM), a truly impressive piece of equipment that reveals intricate structures of microorganisms and materials at a nanometer scale. We observed many different structures under the microscope, and learnt how this type of magnification can be applied in many different fields. Did you know that there is a microorganism that has been genetically modified to mine gold in various mines? How crazy is that! One lucky student was even allowed to have a go at using the machine, and operate it using a joystick mechanism to observe the parts of a cell.

Finally, we were led to a scanning electron microscope (SEM). We witnessed stunning images of various organisms, such as a butterfly eye and shark scales. We then were told about an experiment that was performed which microscopically investigated the effect of different products and straightening techniques on human hair and got to see an example of treated and untreated hair. The differences were eye opening and unexpected.  

Before heading back to school, we were treated to a small snack and some juice boxes.The Year 11 outing to UCT was truly memorable, and one that left us all in awe of the wonders and future of the promising field of microbiology. We are so grateful for the amazing team at the lab who gave up their time to inspire the next generation of future biologists, and a massive thank you to Dr Rat for organising it! 

-By Cara-Claire

Photos by Retaya