Ninja Bugs! Bring it on! (1)

Big Question - Who will win the battle of the bugs?

On you and all around you are microscopic living things  - welcome to the world of micro-organisms.

In this course, you will learn about the biology of different kinds of bacteria, fungi and viruses. We will look at the infectious diseases some of them can cause and how we can protect ourselves from these dangerous ones. This will involve looking at hygiene processes, antibiotics, vaccinations and rongoā.

We will investigate the helpful microorganisms and look at why it is important that we do not unthinkingly kill them off.

By the end of this course you will be skilled at using the microscope to observe microorganisms, inoculating agar plates to grow bacteria and fungi and to making ginger beer, yoghurt and bread. You will also carry out a fair-test investigation into how best to grow or kill these microorganisms.