Phage Hunting in the High School Classroom

Abstract

National science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education emphasizes science practices, such as hands-on learning. We describe a weeklong activity where students participate in real-world scientific discovery, including “hunting” for bacteriophage in a variety of environmental samples. First, the students collect samples, then look for evidence of phage on “bait” bacteria, and finally amplify/purify the phages for further study.