Lab Experiments

When I was in Junior High School, we had Physics and Biology lab experiments. I don't remember anymore if we started on the first grade already or second grade, but we had to buy a white lab coat for this purpose. We were spread into several groups in alphabetical order, so I was in a group with my friends whose first names started with either an A, B, or C (remember that in Indo first name is more important than last name). 

I don't remember too much about Physics lab experiments other than a few glimpses of memories, because I find the Biology lab experiments to be more interesting. For example we got to dissect a frog, a fish, and a house lizard. 

Luckily, though, because there were at least 5 people in a group, only one of us had to dissect. After the deed was done, then usually we had to figure out the insides of the animals and then drew them in our lab notes and marked them according to their own colours. Yep, we had to bring colouring pencils to the labs, as well.



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I remember being the one bringing a big bagful of live frogs from the traditional market where my Mom sold food. Because she knew the guy who sold the frogs (yes, we do eat cooked frogs in Indo), the school could get a special price, so in the morning before my Dad took me to school by motorcycle, we went to this market first to get the frogs. When my Mom sold food at this market, she was there already at around 5 or 6 am (and school started at 7 am), so there was enough time to go get them with my Mom's help.

Anyway, at the end of each school semester, we had lab tests as well. Other than the first semester, each of us had to pick a number before going into the lab. The numbers are written on pieces of paper which are then balled and then put in a big bowl, so it was pure luck which number you'd get. Everyone was really anxious because there were some experiments that we weren't really keen on doing on our own. After picking the number, we would get into the lab room and then go find the table with the same number on it. That was then the test that you had to do. 

I remember one of my close friends having to dissect a fish. YIKES!!!! Dissecting a fish was the worst because it smelled so strong and the fish was much bigger than the other animals and there was more blood and therefore more slimy compared to the other animals I mentioned above (I don't know what type of fish it was but it was big). She had to do the experiment near the sink due to the possible amount of blood produced during the experiment. I myself wouldn't mind having to dissect the frog, but didn't want to do the fish. Luckily that day I got something easy that didn't require any dissecting he he he...



 
One time we also had an experiment with cockroaches. EWWWWWWWW!!! I really HATE roaches, especially flying ones. They're just gross! I'm not 100% sure whether we did dissect it or not, but there was also another experiment where we had to put it inside a tube and nobody in our group wanted to do it, even though I was the only girl there ha ha ha ha...So finally one classmate of mine grudgingly did it, but because he was grossed out as well, the sneaky little thing managed to run away and that caused hysteria because all the girls near our table were screaming whereas the boys were all trying to get away from the roach instead of trying to catch it. Thus our lab teacher got angry and told us (our group) to catch it ASAP hi hi hi hi...What a memory! :-D

Well, not long after that, though, that classmate of mine managed to grab it again somehow and shove it into the tube (mind you, the tube is rather slim, so it's not that easy to shove the live roach into it!). We all felt so relieved once the poor little thing was safe and sound inside the closed tube. Phew!!!

Other than dissecting animals, we also used a microscope on many occasions. I found that interesting and exciting!!! Each group was given a microscope so each member could take turns to use it and then we had to draw what we saw in our lab book. However, if one of us broke something, then the group had to chip in to buy the same thing for the school. Nobody had ever damaged anything much other than a few tubes if I remember correctly, so it was all good.


In High School I had no lab experiments because on the second grade I chose to study more Economics than Biology or Physics, but I'll always have fond memories of my Junior High lab experiments.