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  • In this activity, students observe billions of soil microbes and ‘see’ microbes at work as they soft boil an egg in a compost bin.

    By the end of this activity, students should be able to:

    • discuss that soil is home to living things, including things we cannot see
    • associate the heat generated by microbial activity with the heating of an egg in a compost bin.

    Download the Word file (see link below) for:

    • introduction/background notes
    • what you need
    • what to do.

    Nature of science

    Science is part of our daily lives. Scientific investigations can be as simple as placing an egg in a compost bin and observing what happens next.

    Useful link

    Soil microbes are essential in the composting process. Learn more about composting Find out more about backyard composting on this website.

      Published 30 June 2015 Referencing Hub articles
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