Petri dish

A Petri dish is commonly used in biology experiments when growing things such as bacteria, plants and fungi which will later be analyzed by students and scientists. A Petri dish is usually a shallow, flat, round dish made from either plastic or glass.

Incubator

Incubators are used to keep a particular specimen at the ideal temperature or level of humidity for the appropriate analysis or manipulation.

Cover slips or cover slides

Cover slips and slides are essentially the same thing, an extremely thin sheet ofglass placed over a slide when a specimen has been placed onto a slide. The slide will flatten the specimen to make it easier to analyze and study when viewing it through a microscope. The slide will also act as a shield to protect both the microscope and the specimen as well preventing evaporation or contamination.

Test tubes

Test tubes are cylindrical U-shaped tubes of glass which allow observation, measuring and mixing. Items related to biological studies are placed inside and a test tube holder is used to hold many test tubes in place. This is necessary because test tubes have a rounded bottom and need support to stand up. Test tubes should not be confused with boiling tubes which are suitable to be used with a Bunsen burner as they can withhold high temperatures which would shatter a test tube.

Staining dishes

Staining dishes are often used in microbiology whereby dye is added to a substance to establish if another specific substance is present. The dishes contain slides which can be used for a development chamber.

Autoclaves

These are used to ensure sterilization is achieved. A product is placed under extreme pressure and high temperatures, sometimes for biological reasons but also to sterilize other lab instruments before use in scientific experiments.