How do you get people interested in microbiology? Microbiology can be quite abstract since it is the study of organisms we most of the time cannot see without the aid of a microscope.
Someone who has a passion for helping people discover a love for microbes is Dr. Dave Westenberg. I brought Dave onto the Joyful Microbe podcast because of his passion for microbiology education. He is a professor of Biological Sciences at Missouri University of Science and Technology, has a PhD in microbiology and molecular genetics, and calls himself a “juggler of microbes.” Don’t worry. We talk about what that means.
He teaches at the university level but also does outreach at the K–12 level and to the general public through events. We talk about how he approaches microbiology education by creating relatable connections and using art and the beauty of colorful microbes to spark curiosity.
In this episode, you will learn about…
- What it means to be a “juggler of microbes”
- What the world looks like through a microbiologist’s eyes
- Why microbes are amazing
- Microbiology teaching strategies
- What microbial agar art is
- How microbes can glow in the dark (bioluminescence)
- A great resource to help you find microbes in your daily life
- Hands-on activity to create a colorful microbial ecosystem (Winogradsky columns)
- Microbiology and teaching resources
Listen to my episode with Dr. Dave Westenberg
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What does it mean to be a “juggler of microbes”?
Dr. Dave Westenberg is a self-proclaimed “germ juggler” or “juggler of microbes.” The way he explains this is that as a microbiologist, he is constantly juggling this idea of microbes being good and bad. Microbes are essential to our well-being, and most are beneficial to us and the world. But some are incredibly dangerous. “We have to respect those microbes,” he says. “We’re always juggling that idea of appreciating the beauty and the fun and the importance of microbes. But at the same time, respecting the possibility that there are microbes out there that we don’t know about that could be potentially harmful. And so trying to balance that becomes a juggling act.”
He stresses that it is important to “recognize the risks — we have to be careful. You don’t have to fear the microbes. You have to respect them.” This idea is something I’ve discussed previously on the Joyful Microbe (read about it here in “Not All Microbes Are Germs”) that most microbes are not going to harm us. Yet in the news, we hear about the bad ones mostly. And so it makes it seem like there are more “bad microbes” because of how famous they are. But one of the main goals with Joyful Microbe is to share with the world that microbes have a bad reputation and don’t all fit the portrayal in news articles. The vast majority of the microbial world is not harmful.
Microbiology as a career option
Dave’s initial interest in microbiology came when he was working on his undergraduate degree. He planned to apply for vet school after his bachelor’s degree. Since there was no “pre-vet” major, he majored in microbiology to learn more about microbial disease figuring it would be helpful for his future career. However, he enjoyed his first microbiology course much more than he expected and was excited by the incredible microbial diversity that exists and the realization that not all microbes cause disease.
Then when he discovered that he could actually become a microbiologist, everything changed. “I suddenly realized, oh, you can get a career as a microbiologist.” That experience has influenced how he approaches education. Dave emphasizes to his students that there are a variety of career options outside of being a doctor or engineer. “I don’t want students to wait until the last quarter of their last year to make that discovery. So that’s my goal as an educator: to help them discover themselves.”
The world through a microbiologist’s eyes
When I asked Dave how he views the world differently through the lens of a microbiologist (for better or worse), he said that he sees microbiology everywhere (I must admit I do the same thing). “To my department chair’s horror, I connect it to everything. Everything we talk about in faculty meetings, I can draw microbes into the conversation in some way, shape, or form,” he says.
Once you know some of the signs and evidence to look for, which I aim to equip you with through the Joyful Microbe blog and podcast, you will start to draw connections of everyday things to the microbial world. It’s a fun way to live and not as scary as it may seem.
What would the world be like if we didn’t have microbes?
Since Dave likes to connect anything to the microbial world, he took on the challenge to give a TEDx talk relating the theme “dare to consider” to microbiology and discussed what the world would be like if we had no microbes.
We depend on microbes in so many aspects of our lives without realizing it. But most people focus on how to kill germs with antibacterials. So, Dave took the opportunity to help open people’s eyes to the idea that microbes enhance our lives and that life would not be nearly as fun, beautiful, or flavorful if we didn’t have microbes. And actually, it would be pretty bad without them. “Microbes are valuable, and we should respect them,” he says. In the talk, he described different beneficial aspects of microbes, from microbes and food to the microbes in agriculture to microbes and our general health (the microbiome), as well as some of the fun things that we can do with microbes. It’s definitely worth watching.
It’s worth mentioning, and I’m glad Dave brought it up, that we should not minimize the importance of harmful microbes. They are dangerous. I tend to focus on the fun aspects of microbes rather than the disease-causing microbes because they get the spotlight most of the time. But we must indeed respect that people suffer from microbial infections, and that is a serious matter. Dealing with infections, especially antimicrobial resistance in infections, is a critical battle we must fight.
A fun way to learn the history of microbiology
When Dave begins a new microbiology class, he makes a point to encourage students to build their own connections to the microbial world. He wants them to get excited about it, so they actually want to learn the concepts. The students learn the history of microbiology with a twist: they research and learn about a microbiologist of their choosing.
“Microbiology, like any science, is done by people. And the people that do the science are really important.” Through these connections, students can recognize that they can also be a microbiologist if they want to.
As a part of teaching the history of microbiology, Dave says he tells the stories of “the old farts of microbiology” and some lesser-known microbiologists. One example is a very little-known local microbiologist named Dr. Ida Bengtson, who worked at Missouri University of Science and Technology in the 1920s and had a tremendous impact on the area and microbiology. Dr. Bengtson was brought on the faculty to work on trachoma (a bacterial infection that can cause blindness) in South Central Missouri. She set up a trachoma hospital, worked on isolating the bacterium that caused the infection, and helped create awareness about the importance of hygiene preventing the spread of the infection. You can learn more about her story in an article by a colleague of Dave’s, Dr. Kathleen Sheppard, in the history department, who teaches the history of science.
What gets students excited about microbes
The lab is usually when students get to experience the fun of microbiology for the first time. They get to see microbes, usually bacteria, with their own eyes and make connections to what they learn conceptually. “I always get a kick out of the students that say, ‘I’m terrible at working with a microscope,’ and you walk them through that, and they suddenly start to get it. That’s when you really see their eyes light up,” says Dave.
The microscopes portion of the labs when I taught microbiology was the most fun for me. When a student struggled to get the microscope into focus but finally saw the bacteria come into view for the first time, it was thrilling for them and me. I loved getting to share that with them.
Another relatable topic that students enjoy hearing about and making connections with is the food portion of microbiology, says Dave. “When we talk about microbes and food, and they discover that chocolate and coffee — these things that are a big part of their lives — are thanks to microbial activities, that really raises that excitement level again. It makes a whole change in their attitude and perception on things.”
So, he says, connecting students with people in microbiology allows them to see themselves doing microbiology, and showing them that the food they eat requires microbes helps the concepts make more sense. Relating microbiology to things in our lives — which is surprisingly a lot of things — really helps us all to understand microbiology and make it personal.
Teaching microbiology to college students versus K–12
The difference in how you teach college students versus K–12 depends on how deep you go with the material. But Dave emphasizes that it’s always important to “spark curiosity to get them to ask questions,” and you can do that at any level.
He tells me that he has a massive amount of respect for K–12 educators and wants to help support them in any way possible by providing resources and tools to foster those connections. One way Dave does this is by visiting classes to share microbiology.
At the same time, he says that he’s learned a great deal from K–12 teachers on being a better educator, particularly how you can communicate the same information. For students to absorb the material, you need to share it in multiple formats.
Also, he says that he’s learned from K–12 teachers about being more intentional in the classroom. K–12 teachers are actually trained to be educators. They learn the importance of planning and organizing and using backward design to think about learning objectives and ensure each class aims to fulfill them. Having intention behind what you do helps prevent wasting precious time in the classroom.
Learning a microbiology technique (streak plate) in a new way
Dave posted on Twitter about something called the #StreakPlateChallenge and #CompetitiveStreaking that showed Petri dishes with yellow, purple, pink, and beige microbes growing. So, I asked him what he was doing, what were the different microbes, and why they were different colors. He told me that it is “a fun new twist in my microbiology class.”
If you’re unfamiliar with the streak plate technique, it’s a method of separating microbes if you have a mixture of several species or strains by diluting them on the surface of an agar plate. You do this by using a sterile loop to spread the microbes over the surface of the plate, which you segment into quadrants (either with a Sharpie, as I did with my students when I taught microbiology lab, or mentally). You spread the cultures across each quadrant, and each time you cross into a new quadrant, you end up with fewer and fewer cells down to where you get single cells. These single cells grow up into colonies of cells that you can see with the naked eye. In microbiology, separating microbes into pure cultures (single strains or species) is very important for studying microbes, diagnosing infections, or knowing the source of contamination. This technique is one of the first you learn in microbiology lab.
Typically, in a microbiology lab, you might use bacteria that are a beige color. But to make it a bit more fun, the #StreakPlateChallenge uses colorful strains of bacteria. And Dave challenges his students to try and “get as many of those colors to stand out as possible as single cells on the plate.” He says the students seem to enjoy seeing the colors, making them all the more curious about the microbes.
Sometimes, happy accidents happen that create microbial art. “A student accidentally dropped a droplet of the mixture on the plate and created this beautiful flower effect.”
Ultimately, the point of the laboratory exercise is to meet a learning objective of teaching them a crucial microbiology skill while having fun.
Creating Agar Art
Microbiologists love to take the microbes they work with and create art with them. You can create art with microbes by drawing on the agar in Petri dishes with the cells from different microbes. You can’t see the microbes at first because the individual cells are too small to see with the naked eye. But as with the streak plate technique discussed above, after you let the microbes grow, your drawing is revealed.
Even Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin, used to create agar art as well, says Dave. Each year the American Society for Microbiology holds an agar art competition that Dave has enjoyed with his students. He gives credit for his inspiration to fellow microbiologist Dr. Mark Martin, who creates art with his students not only using colorful bacteria but also with bacteria that glow (which we’ll discuss below). Creating agar art provides an excellent way to share microbes with non-microbiologists in public venues and schools: they do this each year on campus for a St. Patrick’s Day agar art event.
When I worked as a microbiology lab manager and taught the labs, I was responsible for preparing the bacteria for class. And sometimes, I would create some of my own agar art. For the first microbiology lab, I would streak out E. coli in the shape of a smiley face and pass it around so everybody could see bacteria in a different sort of way. But I also did it for fun — I made things like a tree (here’s a photo of it on Instagram), a leaf, and an airplane because my husband is a pilot. It’s funny to think that microbiologists like Alexander Fleming did the same thing. There’s something in us that wants to take these microbes that we work with and do something artistic with them.
Microbes that glow: how bioluminescence works
Another topic we discussed was bioluminescent bacteria, or bacteria that can glow in the dark. When his daughter was away at summer camp, Dave would send some bioluminescent bacteria for her birthday. “I would paint a birthday treat, tape it up, and mail it to her at camp, so she’d get a bioluminescent treat delivered to her at camp for her birthday.”
Bioluminescent bacteria and algae are naturally able to produce their own light. A strain of bacteria, called Photobacterium leiognathi, does it through a process where they “talk” to each other with chemical signals, called quorum sensing. Through quorum sensing, they create the light only after they’ve reached a certain cell density. “When they achieve a quorum.”
Microbes need oxygen to create light, which is why ocean waves light up at night sometimes because of a type of microscopic algae called phytoplankton. A way that Dave likes to demonstrates the oxygen requirement for bioluminescence is by filling a glass tube with a bioluminescent culture (see his demo on YouTube), capping it off, and after 10-15 seconds, it goes dark because it needs oxygen to light up. But if you leave an air bubble at the top and turn the tube over, the bacteria light up as the bubble rises.
I noticed bioluminescence when my husband and I were sitting on the beach at night and when we pushed our hands down on the sand, we saw it light up. Microbes are everywhere, putting on a show for us. We just have to know what to look for.
Finding microbes in our daily lives
There are plenty of ways we can look for microbes in our daily lives, but a great guide that Dave recommends and I’ve previously mentioned on the blog is A Field Guide to Bacteria by Betsey Dexter Dyer. The author describes different signs or “field marks” that indicate microbes are around when you wouldn’t usually realize they were there. One example is a metallic or rainbow sheen on the water that you might think is an oil spill that is actually metals from bacteria.
At-home microbiology activity
Dave recommended the at-home microbiology activity to create a Winogradsky column, which you can read about in full detail in a previous post on the blog. It’s a microbial ecosystem made with mud, water, paper, and egg yolk.
Here’s how Dave describes what happens in the Winogradsky column: “over time, photosynthetic bacteria will start to grow because you’ve provided them an environment they like, and they create different colors, which will be related to their relationship to oxygen at the top or at the bottom you get hydrogen sulfide (because you included the sulfur-rich egg yolk).” So, the microbes grow in different layers represented by different colors. Making Winogradsky columns is something you can do at home or use as an activity in the classroom to help students learn about microbes, ecology, and succession of species.
If you’d like to create a Winogradsky column and are looking for a complete guide as well as teaching resources to go with it, check out my Joyful Winogradsky Column Guide.
Links & Resources
This post contains affiliate links — see my disclosure policy.
- A Field Guide to Bacteria by Betsey Dexter Dyer
- I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong (book and YouTube channel)
- Dave Westenberg Teaching Resources
- Joyful Microbe blog post: A window into the microbial world: the Winogradsky column
- Joyful Winogradsky Column Guide – complete guide to Winogradsky Columns for microbe enthusiasts and science educators
- HHMI Winogradsky column
- Microbes in our daily lives: rainbow metallic sheen
Connect with Dr. Dave Westenberg
Dave Westenberg is a Professor of Biological Sciences at Missouri University of Science and Technology. He earned his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from the University of California, Los Angeles. He spent two years in Germany as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow and four years as a USDA post-doctoral fellow at Dartmouth College before joining the faculty at Missouri S&T.
Connect with Dr. Dave Westenberg: Twitter, website, and email.
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