6th Grade · Science · Activity · shared by Luke Morgan
Investigate the accidental discovery of penicillin and the science of antibiotic resistance with this free 6th Grade Science activity.
Case Study: The Accident That Saved Millions
In the year 1928, a scientist named Dr. Alexander Fleming was working in a cluttered laboratory at St. Mary's Hospital in London. He was studying a dangerous type of bacteria called Staphylococcus , which could cause serious infections in humans. Before he left for a two-week vacation, he accidentally left several glass petri dishes filled with these bacteria sitting out on his lab bench instead of putting them away in a warm incubator.
Upon returning to his laboratory, Dr. Fleming commenced sorting through various neglected glass dishes to sanitize them. He observed that a common green fungus, formally identified as Penicillium , had spontaneously appeared in one of the containers. While most researchers would have disregarded the contaminated dish, Fleming conducted a meticulous scientific observation regarding the unusual growth. He recognized that the circular area immediately surrounding the fuzzy mold was entirely devoid of any living bacteria. The mold functioned by secreting a powerful substance that effectively inhibited the harmful germs from multiplying nearby. Fleming hypothesized that this mysterious liquid could be utilized as a medical treatment to counteract human infections. He designated the substance penicillin and initiated additional experiments to determine if it could safely eliminate germs without injuring patients. This accidental discovery eventually facilitated the development of the world’s first antibiotic , a revolutionary medicine used to preserve countless lives from bacterial diseases.
While Fleming's discovery was brilliant, he faced a major problem: he was a biologist, not a chemist. He could grow the mold, but he struggled to extract enough of the pure penicillin to treat a human patient. For…