How to make a DIY incubator for home/classroom science experiments and genetic engineering

Learn how to build a simple incubator for Petri dishes using a thermometer, lamp, and plastic containers in a few minutes!
Grow your bacteria and microorganisms at 37°C for genetic engineering, biotechnology, or microbiology home experiments, science fair projects or in your life science/biology classroom.
Use your DIY Incubator to do one or many of Amino Labs popular biology kits:
Canvas Kit: amino.bio/coll...
Engineer-it Kit: amino.bio/coll...
Try Amino Labs Free Virtual Bioengineer Simulators: amino.bio/page...
Amino Labs Blog has lots of other information and ideas: amino.bio/blog...
The Zero to Genetic Engineering Hero Book: amino.bio/coll...

[@onlyAviZy]

Hello! Due to time constraints in setting up an incubator, can we repurpose an acrylic display rack riser with warm colored LED lights on the ceiling (commonly used for action figure displays) for our petri dish? The idea is to place it in cabinet covered with cloth since we lack an incubator in our chemistry lab. Additionally, we aim to gather bacteria from school surfaces (elevator buttons, stairs, chairs, tables, and door handles) to assess alcohol-free and alcohol-based sanitizers' effectiveness using the zone of inhibition method. Appreciate your insights!

[@Aminobiolab]

Hi! Unfortunately, LEDs do not provide any heat -so you wouldn't be able to raise the temperature of your DIY incubator to the right one. Incandescent lightbulbs are key to getting the temperature to rise since the bulb heats up when turned on. As for streaking the school surfaces, we recommend being careful when incubating them - once you see organisms grow, do not touch them, ingest them, or inhale them. Wear gloves and keep the Petri dishes in a sealed bag like a ziplock. Finally, make sure to inactivate and dispose of them safely (you can have a look at our inactivation video here kzbin.info/www/bejne/fH25onmJrLFngc0). Why? The reason is that while most organisms you'll find on the surfaces you swab are harmless, once they multiply into millions of colonies on your Petri dishes, they become more of a hazard. So remember to wear gloves, never ingest or breathe in the bacteria growing on the petri dish, and dispose of them safely at the end! You can see our safe science guidelines here, with some posters you can download for your classroom wiki.amino.bio/en/Getting-started/Safety

[@homosapien8828]

I just take a Container And put an adjustable aquarium heater with a thermometer. I float a Container to put petri dishes to avoid getting my petri dishes wet.

[@srishtichoudhary5084]

would keeping the agar plates in a box and covering them with a blanket efficient enough

[@Aminobiolab]

This depends on the temperature of the room you are in, and your blanket, but it's unlikely that you could reach as high as 98f without a heat source. If you could place your box with an insulating blanket near a heat source that might help? You can always try first without your Petri dishes to see if it can work. Good luck!

[@ari9304]

hi i am working on this for a science fair project is it safe to put multiple petri dishes in the container at once (if they fit)

[@Aminobiolab]

Hi! Yes, if your petri dishes fit in the container, it is safe to have them all in. Because the temperature might be slightly different on the bottom than on top of the pile of the container, you can change the order of your Petri dishes every 12 or 24 hours. Good luck!

[@ari9304]

can i freeze the bacteria so that i can record all the bacteria collected on the same date or will the results be different

[@Aminobiolab]

Hi! If you don't need the bacteria to survive after incubation and only have to count/compare all your petri dishes, I would recommend putting them in the refrigerator in a sealable bag (like a "ziplock") or wrapping them in cling wrap/food wrap to prevent them from drying out. In the refrigerator, they will last for a few months. I wouldn't recommend freezing - it might affect the agar and make it hard to count the bacteria after.

[@ari9304]

​@@Aminobiolabif i want to start the bacteria growth on the same day can i just freeze it rather than incubating it immediately cause i want to start the bacteria growth on the same day since in order to obtain all of the bacteria from different locations will take more time because i need to go to the locations

[@Aminobiolab]

Hi ari! Unfortunately, no you cannot freeze the bacteria before incubating it. Freezing temperatures kill [some/most] bacteria, so you wouldn't get accurate results in your experiments.

[@srishtichoudhary5084]

Can I put multiple agar plates in growing bacteria in the oven..turn it on and off here and there but keep it 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit?

[@Aminobiolab]

Hi Srishti. It depends on how big your container is - in the video, we can fir two plates, but if you had bigger containers, you could definitely put more Petri dishes in. You can turn the heater on and off, and keep an eye on the thermometer to make sure the temperature stays close to 98.6 even when the lamp is off. Good luck with your experiment!

[@Peeblez24]

hello! I only have a 40 watt incandescent bulb- I am unable to obtain any bulb higher than that currently. Will this be too little heat for my incubator? TIA!

[@Aminobiolab]

Hi Tatyana, a 40-watt bulb should get hot enough over time to get your incubator close to 37C. You might need to wait longer for the temperature to get high enough. Also, if you can, your best bet is to insulate the containers you are using to prevent the heat from escaping. Good insulating materials are styrofoam from packaging, foam, felt, or wool. (You can do a quick online search for DIY insulating to see what you can find at home) To insulate, wrap/cover the outside of the container with your insulator. But be very careful and watch your incubator to make sure nothing gets too hot. Good luck!

[@Peeblez24]

@@Aminobiolab Thank you so much ! I appreciate it lots!

[@gaziz6202]

Do u know why my bacteria isnt gorwing? I kept the agar in the petri dish, put the samples on it and then kept it in a dark room but i came to check in the morning but no hrowth or no sign of any bacteria

[@Aminobiolab]

Hi! Sorry for the late reply, but it could be that 1) your bacteria needs more time to grow. Depending on what bacteria you are using, it can take 24 hours to 72+ hours for you to see them. 2) you might not have transferred bacteria on the petri dish when you streaked your plates. You can always go back to your source of bacteria and re-streak it onto your plate. Make sure you see your loop or streaking utensil touch the bacteria before you streak. 3) Your temperature might not be constant/accurate. Try to test your thermometer to make sure it is accurate, and check on your incubator often - sometimes the temperature will change over time, and you need to re-adjust the position of your lamp. Hope this helps!

[@srishtichoudhary2180]

Do you have a link of where I can buy that lamp?

[@Aminobiolab]

Hi there! This specific lamp we already had in our lab, but if you search for a "desk clip on lamp" at your local stores or online, you will be able to find very similar ones. We've found that having the moving "neck" like on this lamp is quite helpful when it comes to angling your lightbulb in the right spot to maintain 37C

[@reannonmaes]

Can you use clear plastic containers?

[@Aminobiolab]

Yes absolutely. And that would be a great way to keep an eye on the petri dish as the organism grow :)

[@user-bt2lx4gy7h]

Best tile ever. "DIY incubator for teaching children/ creating super human race"

[@blove9415]

Would this method work with spores is the 98 degrees too high a temperature for mycelium growth ?

[@Aminobiolab]

Hi Barry! We've never grown mycellium ourselves (but it sounds very fun!) A quick google tells me that mycelium prefers cooler temperature "Mycelium grew best during spawn-running when the temperature was kept at 75° F. (23·9° C.)" I also had a look at the very cool Ecovative's Grow Your Own mycelium kits (grow.bio/blogs/learn) and in the instructions, it looks like there's no need to incubate at high temperature. You can also have a look here -> mycology.fandom.com/wiki/Incubation. this looked pretty promising! Good luck! 🍄Let us know how it goes!

[@mayathin364]

Does the containers have to be plastic

[@Aminobiolab]

No, but you have to be careful to use a material that won't get too hot with the lamp and potentially be a fire hazard. Be careful :) A good material is styrofoam that you can find in shipping boxes. Styrofoam insulates well, so it would keep the heat inside the container.

[@finleycarlson488]

Does anyone know if it has to remain at the same temp exactly for the whole time or if it can very a little?

[@Aminobiolab]

Hi Finley! It can vary a little, and likely will with this type of DIY incubator. Try to keep it as consistent as possible but don't worry to much about little variations!

[@grantm3332]

What voltage lightbulb do you recommend using for this?

[@Aminobiolab]

Hi Grant! The voltage of the lamp can be standard voltage. For example120 V in North America, or 220 V in Europe, Asia... For the lightbulb, you want to watch for the wattage, for which we recommend ~60 watts

[@va3929]

Hi! I have a science fair project where I have to incubate the petri dishes, using this diy incubator will I be able to see the bacterial colonies after a few days?

[@Aminobiolab]

Yes! you should be able to. But you need to make sure you know what temperature your bacteria/organisms like to grow at. You can use the distance from your lightbulb to adjust the temperature. Check back regularly in the first hours to make sure the temperature is correct for your specific organisms. (If it is standard lab E. coli, that would be 37°C, if it's yeast that's usually around 30°C...) If you are incubating for more than 16 to 24 hours, pay attention to your petri dish - they can dehydrate because of the heat from the lamp. You might want to rotate them every so often to prevent the agar from drying out. Good luck!

[@va3929]

@@Aminobiolab Can I use a heat lamp?

[@Aminobiolab]

@@va3929 The main priority when doing science at home is safety. Typically a heat lamp is high wattage - very hot, so it may be dangerous for you to use because it could melt your plastic, could burn your surface or experiment, or even yourself. You'll have to make the judgement as to wether you feel it is safe. The heat lamp could also dry out your agar if it is too hot.

[@va3929]

@@Aminobiolab The heat lamp I am looking at is about 50W, would that be safe?

[@Aminobiolab]

@@va3929 It really depends on how hot the heat lamp would get, your setup, and where you position it. (I think you would need to have it quite far from the plastic containers - not like in the video). Your heat lamp, if you go that way, will have safety instructions that come with it, so you would absolutely need to read and follow those. We can't say if it will be safe or not, because that depends on the lamp and your setup, but you could test it out by carefully following your heat lamp's instructions and not leaving it unattended. You would monitor it carefully and turn it off at any sign of melting, burning, etc, and never touch the bulb directly! I would still recommend an incandescent bulb & lamp.

[@madgenesis77]

Wouldn't direct exposure to a very close light source dry the agar?

[@Aminobiolab]

Yes, this is true - the heat from the lamp can dry out the agar. This is why, in the video, we recommend using 2 containers stacked on top of each other and placing the upside down Petri dish inside the top container with the lamp directed primarily towards the bottom container. The heat from the lamp then comes from the bottom, and is not-so-directly on the Petri dish itself. We also recommend using this DIY incubator for short incubations 12 to 24 hours and with the suggestion of rotating the plate at regular intervals throughout so that it is not always the same side of the agar that is getting the heat. As a DIY solution, it will never be a perfect solution, but it can still enable you to do some great biotechnology+biology experiments at a very low cost while practicing your DIY skills! If you want a more precise incubator, you can have a look at our DNA playground :) And, of course, if you have any suggestions on improvements we could make to this DIY incubator, please share!

[@alexsprite1382]

Hey I have a question i need help identifying bacteria

[@Aminobiolab]

Hi Alex! Sure! Can you send us a photo(s) and any information about the experiment you did to help at amino.bio?

[@MicrobTalk]

Great 👌

[@mashahmaabbas7849]

Really useful 👍👍👍👏👏thnx

[@ZINKtheog]

No sry

[@littletree5871]

Is it possible to have several plates inside at once? say 2 or 3?

[@Aminobiolab]

Good question! 😊We haven't tried this yet, but is highly likely that this would work... the only danger would be that your plates would either dry out or not get enough heat on top of the stack. A stack of 2 is more likely to work than 3. But it's worth a try, and I'll start an experiment right away to see what happens (check back for results in ~24 hours!), and if you try yourself, please let us know how it went!

[@Aminobiolab]

🚨The results are in: You can absolutely do a stack of 3 plates in this incubator (as long as your top container is big enough, the one in this video was). And actually, the top plate was the best-looking one! Hot air does rise and we had to move the thermometer up a bit since it can be a tight fit to pop it through the top with a 3-stack of plates; we tried to make sure the thermometer was about mid-height in the chamber. Since the heat won't be equally distributed throughout, we recommend shuffling the order of your plates in the stack a few times during incubation. 🧫💡

[@littletree5871]

@@Aminobiolab Thank you so much! I am planning my senior project for the year and, well, due to the pandemic, I thought it would be easier, more efficient, and cheaper if I created my own incubator. I haven't started yet and was doing research when I came across this video. It was really helpful. Thank you! :D

[@Christians_outdoors]

Wait do we need agar

[@Aminobiolab]

The agar is used to grow the bacteria. So while you don't need it to build the incubator, you will need it if you are growing bacteria on Petri dishes. Agar is the hardened gel substance that is in the petri dish, and it is was the bacteria eat and grow on. Depending on which bacteria you are growing, the agar will be mixed with different nutrients. In the case of our experiment kits, we use LB agar to grow the bacteria and it comes pre-measure for you in the kit. 😊

[@Christians_outdoors]

@@Aminobiolab ok thanks!

[@Christians_outdoors]

@@Aminobiolab does gelatin work?

[@Aminobiolab]

@@Christians_outdoors Happy to help ~ Good luck with your experiments!

[@Aminobiolab]

​@@Christians_outdoors Since agar and gelatin have similar properties, you can use gelatin instead if you don't have any agar. Depending on what you are growing, you may need to add special nutrients for the bacteria/microorganisms. This article may help: sciencing.com/homemade-agar-plates-6132952.html Please make sure to only grow bacteria or microorganisms that you know are safe, and if you see any moulds or fuzzy strange coloured growths on your petri dish, add bleach to kill them right away. You can look at our inactivation video for more information on this. Some moulds and microorganisms that grow in the air and on our skin can be dangerous when grown on a petri dish in large quantities. Always put science first! amino.bio/blogs/news/practice-safe-science

[@finleycarlson488]

I used a small cooler and heating mat

[@Aminobiolab]

Did it work well? A cooler sounds like a great idea!

[@finleycarlson488]

@@Aminobiolab i am still kind of in the testing stage i have yet to try it but it is a bit finicky, on that matter does it have to hold the exact temp the whole time or can it fluxuate some? also its mainly this guys work kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJ6WaGuua999j8U he does some crazy stuff with genetics and other bio

[@-kayban-]

Can you use a LED light?

[@Aminobiolab]

Unfortunately, an LED would not provide enough heat as they stay cool when on.

[@emiliaflores885]

does anyone any other thing i could use instead of plastic????

[@Aminobiolab]

Styrofoam works really well if you have any at home, or a thick cardboard box can work. If you can tape or place a bag around your cardboard box to help seal the hot hair in, that's ideal :)

[@EvanBoye]

Good for one plate. What about 100 plates

[@Aminobiolab]

Hi Evan, for a large number of plates you could try a similar idea where you use a lightbulb as a source of heat and a larger container. For this, we would recommend that you use a more insulating material for your container since you'd want to have a nice distribution of heat all over the inside. You can try something like a styrofoam shipping box, or some shipping styrofoam sheets you assemble into a box with tape. Again, this would help keep the heat inside your DIY incubator at a more constant temperature. For your heat source, it might also be better for you if you can try using a reptile heat lamp (or similar) for more consistent heat output. Those lamp are meant to keep a whole aquarium hot, so they should do the trick. Finally, once you get your incubator going, you'll need to make sure the petri dishes near the heat source are not getting too hot if your thermometer is far away. You could try having more than one thermometer. Oof! That's a lot for you to experiment with! Let us know how it goes if you have a chance. And remember to spend some time testing the incubator temperature before you put your experiment in! ☺︎

[@godlikedawn9675]

What's the purpose of the rectangular hole below?

[@Aminobiolab]

The rectangular hole is so that the heat from the lamp can be directed into the bottom container, so it can warm up the Petri dishes from below.