Guest Hollow’s High School Biology Curriculum Lab and Activities Supply List

Get a printable supply list when you purchase the Biology Curriculum Schedule!

Labs, experiments, and activities are an important part of a biology program. We have a variety of lab choices listed. You should NOT do them all! Think of this as a buffet of lab choices. You will need to choose labs based on your interest(s) and budget. We’ve seen biology programs that only have dissection labs and others that skip them altogether. We think it’s more balanced to do different types of labs and my choices reflect that.

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There are several lab options

First, I will explain your lab options for the year, and then farther down below I will list the supplies for each week.

Option 1:

Note: In Lab III-4 there is a reference to evolution.

The Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments

The benefit of the Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments is that the text is FREE . It’s also quite rigorous and includes a variety of biology labs covering a lot of different subjects.

The downside is that if you want to purchase a kit of supplies, you’ll be set back by over $200 or so. An option to spending so much money and still using this book is going through the experiments and figuring out which ones you can accomplish without buying the kit.

The authors state that even if you do only a third or fourth of the labs, you’ll still accomplish quite a bit of lab work. Having said all that, we did NOT use it. We just did many of the “Guest Hollow labs” (described farther down below in the option 2 section) instead, as I found that was more cost effective (and fun) for our family.

If you use this book, you will need to purchase the kit that goes with it as well as a microscope:

Home School Biology Laboratory Kit
This kit does NOT contain all of the supplies you will need for the labs in this book. See the supply list farther down below for additional items.

Microscope
You will need a compound microscope. We don’t recommend any specific microscope, although the Amscope seems to have some good options.

Option 2:

Guest Hollow Labs

I’ve chosen a variety of labs for the year for you to pick-and-choose from. Instructions for these labs are in the linked web pages in the schedule or are in the instructions that come with some of the kits.

Please note that we are NOT responsible for these links and kits. We merely link to them. Please report any dead links, and we’ll find a replacement activity asap!

These labs are intended for you to pick-and-choose from depending on your budget, time constraints, and student interest.

Some of the labs and activities are featured in Ellen McHenry’s Book: Cells (which is scheduled in). You will need this optional book to do the Cells activities.

This is the option I chose when doing this curriculum with my son. We did NOT do all of the activities listed.

Option 3:

You can mix-and-match labs from the Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments and the Guest Hollow options as desired. Just make sure to look at the supply list ahead of time to plan out your labs (so you have the necessary items on hand)!

Lab F.A.Q.

Supply List

Note: The lab supplies for the Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments are in a tan row to more easily distinguish them from the Guest Hollow lab options. The Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments (IGHBE) lab supplies listed below DO NOT include kit items. If you purchase the kit that goes with this book, please reference it for any other items you made need for the IGHBE labs.

Week 1

Guest Hollow Labs

Using a microscope lab and printable

• newspaper
• scissors
• microscope
• microscope slide
• cover slip
• dropper
• water
• tweezers
• paper towel

Is yeast alive?

• rapid rise yeast
• sugar
• ziploc bags
• small water balloons
• test tubes & rack
• water container
• Sharpie
• sterile nutrient agar plate
• microscope
• petri dishes

Week 2

Guest Hollow Labs

Who took Jerell’s iPod – an organic compound mystery 
(Testing items to see if they contain carbohydrates, lipids or proteins.) Scroll down the page to see the linked experiment.

• Biuret reagent
• Iodine potassium iodide solution
• glucose test strips
• containers for food testing
• something to stir with
• tape for labeling containers
• brown paper bag
• vegetable oil
• glucose or dextrose
• corn starch
• unsweetened gelatin
• hard pretzels
• peanut butter
• jelly
• plain yogurt
• canned white beans

Chemistry of Food Experiment Kit
This is an alternative to the activity linked above.

Exothermic Reaction Make your own Hot Ice!

• household vinegar
• baking soda
• 70% Isopropyl Alcohol
• plastic cup
• plastic bowl
• measuring cup
• aluminum foil
• measuring spoons
• stove
• cooking pot
• fridge

 Endothermic reaction  – Ice Cream in a baggie

• 1/2 cup whipping cream (heavy cream)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla or vanilla flavoring (vanillin)
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup sodium chloride (NaCl) as table salt or rock salt
• 2 cups ice
• 1-quart ZiplocTM bag
• 1-gallon plastic zip bag
• thermometer
• measuring cups and spoons
• cups and spoons

Video lab (after reading the section on enzymes): Amylase Experiment 

• bread or cracker
• your mouth

Online Activity: Enzyme catalysis

• No supplies are needed.

Week 3

Guest Hollow Labs

Experiments with acids and bases

• red cabbage
• stove
• pan
• distilled water
• white paper
• scissors
• cup(s)
• various items from around the house to test like cola, baking soda, milk, aspirin, etc.
• Optional: Red cabbage indicator Jiffy Juice Kit (instead of cooking cabbage and making your own)

Online activity: pH Scale (PHET interactive)

• No supplies are needed for this activity.

Week 4

Cells Book Activities

View cork and plant cells

microscope
piece of cork
piece of onion skin
razor blade
microscope lab printable from the biology printables packet

Demonstration of fluid mosaic model

• mini-marshmallows
•  shallow tray with sides
• water
•  apple (or anything else that will float and can be stuck with a toothpick)
•  a few toothpicks
• knife to cut apple

Make a phospholipid ornament

printouts from the book
pipe cleaners (chenille stems)
string or yarn
colored pencils or markers
craft bond glue (stronger than school glue)
optional beads to slide onto the pipe cleaners

A paper membrane model

• pattern page from the book
• craft glue (stronger than school glue)
• craft knife
• pencil/colored pencils or markers
• ruler
• a pointed object for scoring fold lines (nail, etc.)
• pipe cleaners (chenille stems)

Game for 2 players or more: Lysosome simulation game

• Legos™ or other similar building blocks

Lab: Simulation of merging vesicles using oil droplets

• vegetable oil
• water
• pepper
• optional: eye dropper
• plates or trays to hold a thin layer of water
• optional food coloring

Golgi body cookies

• cookie dough
• icing
• optional candies or food items to decorate the cookies

Week 5

Guest Hollow Labs

Osmosis Eggs or watch an Osmosis Eggs Video

• 3 eggs
• 3 glasses (large enough to fit the egg plus liquid)
• 3 butter knives
• white vinegar (about 3 cups)
• distilled water (about 2 cups)
• light corn syrup (about 1 ¼ cups)
• slotted spoon
• measuring cup (1 cup)
• Mmeasuring spoons (1 tablespoon and ½ tablespoon)
• sticky notes and marker
• scale (optional)

Osmosis Set
Do one experiment about osmosis and one for diffusion.

This is an alternative to the activity linked above.

• corn syrup
• corn starch

Cells Book Activities

Make antibody refrigerator magnets

• pipe cleaners (chenille stems)
• hot glue gun (or strong all-purpose glue)
• small magnets
• optional: a large bead

Week 6

Guest Hollow Labs

Photosynthesis in Elodea

• sprig of Elodea (an aquatic plant available at some pet or garden stores)
• Bromothymol blue solution
• transparent plastic films of different colors (heat resistant)
• masking tape
• clamp lights
• test tubes or small glasses (one for each color and two additional as controls)
• plastic wrap
• aluminum foil

 AP Photosynthesis Lab

As the chloroplasts absorb light, they produce oxygen bubbles which eventually cause the leaves in the experiment to float. You can reproduce this lab at home using:

• spinach leaves
• syringe
• water
• baking soda
• source of light (natural or artificial)
• paper hole punch

Cells Book Activities

Cell “Mini-Mural”

• 2 sheets of cardstock (or regular paper if you don’t have it)
• tape
• pencil and erasers
• ruler
• optional colored pencils or markers
• optional compass to draw circles

Cell Bingo

• copies of the book printables
• 24 tokens (something yummy will work like candies)
• scissors
• glue

Amylase at work (if you didn’t do this activity in week 2)

• bread or cracker with very little added sugar

Week 7

Guest Hollow Labs

How to make sauerkraut (lacto fermented cabbage)

• ¾ quart Mason jar
• Fermentation weights and lids
• cabbage
• salt
• Caraway seeds
• Kitchen scale

Cells Book Activities

Paper model of the ATP synthase

• copies of the book printables
• craft glue (stronger than school glue)
• scissors
• masking tape
• sharp craft knife
• piece of thick cardboard

paper clips or clothespins (to hold paper joints while they dry)

Week 8

Guest Hollow Labs

There are no Guest Hollow labs this week.

Cells Book Activities

Make a Mitosis Flip Book

• patterns printed from the book onto cardstock
• scissors
• glue
• fine sandpaper (to sand the edges of the pages so they will flip easier)

Week 9

Guest Hollow Labs

Geniventure (Yay! Let’s breed some dragons!) A parent will need to sign up for a teacher’s account.

• No supplies are needed for this activity.

Week 10

Guest Hollow Labs

Drosophila genetics simulation

• No supplies are needed for this activity.

Wisconsin Fast Plants Dihybrid Genetics Student Kit

Click here for a PDF that schedules out this experiment and other activities over 45 days.

Want to purchase seeds instead of a kit? Check out: https://fastplants.org/shop/

Week 11

Guest Hollow Labs

Pea Plants: Blending Inheritance (online activity)

• No supplies are needed for this activity.

Mendel Pea Simulation (online activity)

• No supplies are needed for this activity.

Punnett Squares with Skittles

• Skittles or other similar candy (or items like buttons, etc.) in 6 different colors
• 6 different colored plastic eggs to match the colors of candy (or pockets of construction paper)
• printable worksheet – Here’s a link to the lab the poster used.

Week 12

Guest Hollow Labs

Extracting DNA from Strawberries

• 100 ml dishwashing liquid (or shampoo without conditioner) 900 ml water
• 15 grams of salt 1-2 fresh or frozen strawberries
• Ziploc bag
• Coffee filter
• Clear glass or test tube
• Cup or beaker or similar container
• Isopropanol alcohol

Make an Edible DNA Model

• 2 pieces of red licorice
• 12 toothpicks
•  colored mini marshmallows

Reading DNA

• edible DNA models from the previous activity
• black licorice
• printable worksheet and answer key
• crayons
• colored mini marshmallows
• black marker (a Sharpie would work fine)
• toothpicks

DNA to Protein (online activity)

• No supplies are needed for this activity.

Modeling Transcription (online activity)

• No supplies are needed for this activity.

Modeling Translation (online activity)

No supplies are needed for this activity.

Cells Book Activities

Protein pencil topper

• pencil
•  eraser
•  12 pipe cleaners
•  craft beads

Build a paper model of DNA

• copies of the book printables
• scissors
• glue
• stapler or tape
• lots of paperclips

Game: “Translation Taxi”

• copies of the book printables
• paper
• glue and tape
• scissors
• X-Acto knife or razor blad
• 6 tokens (candies, cereal, whatever you want to use)

Super Models: DNA Molecular Model Kit (optional)

Week 13

There are no labs this week.

Week 14

Guest Hollow Labs

Make your own gel electrophoresis apparatus video and instructions

• small rectangular plastic box
• stainless steel wire (24-18 gauge)
• wire cutters
• 5 nine-volt batteries
• 2 alligator clip leads
• kitchen scale or measuring spoons
• baking soda
• bottled water
• agarose powder
• microwave
• 3 food coloring dyes
• measuring utensil (graduated cylinder)

Week 15

Guest Hollow Labs

Transgenic Fly Lab (online activity)

• There are no supplies needed for this activity.

Week 16

There are no labs this week.

Week 17

There are no labs this week.

Week 18

Guest Hollow Labs

There are no Guest Hollow labs for this week.

Week 19

Guest Hollow Labs

Rapitest Soil Tester

Week 20

Guest Hollow Labs

Gram Stain Kit and Bacteria Cultures

Bacteria Growing Kit or The Magic School Bus: The World of Germs Kit Do the activities from either kit. You may need several weeks to complete them.

Week 21

Guest Hollow Labs

Microscopic Life Kit

2nd option:

Microscopic Life – A Free Alternative

• access to a pond
• microscope
• glass microscope slides
• slide covers
• 4 glass jars
• hay (a small amount)
• 1 tsp. rice
• egg yolk
• soil (from your yard)
• dropper

Set up 4 jars and fill each 1/2 filled with collected pond water. Put some chopped hay in one jar, a tsp. of rice in another, 1/4 tsp. egg yolk in another and 2 tsp. soil in the last. Place in a lighted area (but not direct sunlight) and culture for several days. On day 3, take a drop from each (use a new dropper for each jar) and make 4 slides to observe under the microscope. Make new slides and observe again several days later.

Week 22

Guest Hollow Labs

Mushroom Dissection Lab

• Microscope
• Edible mushroom
• Water eye dropper
• Microscope slide
• Forceps
• Cover slip
• Paper towels

Back to The Roots Mushroom Kit

Week 23

Guest Hollow Labs

Plant Pigment Chromatography

• 2 pieces of filter paper
• 150 mL beaker
• glass plate (cover for the beaker)
• pencil (colored pencils would be ideal)
• fresh spinach leaf
• a red leaf (like a coleus leaf or something else that is red like red-leaf lettuce)
• 70% isopropyl alcohol

Week 24

Guest Hollow Labs

Color Changing Flowers

• food coloring
• water
• jar or vase
• white flowers (like carnations or something similar)

Simple Plant Transpiration Experiment

• plant
• clear resealable plastic bag (Ziploc)

Week 25

Guest Hollow Labs

• There are no Guest Hollow labs this week.

Week 26

There are no labs this week.

Week 27

Guest Hollow Labs

 Advanced Dissection Kit: Dissect the Granita (sponge), clam, and earthworm.

This dissection kit comes with all the specimens you need for the year, along with dissections tools, a dissection tray and an illustrated guidebook that will explain how to dissect the provided animals except the granita specimen (which is pretty straight-forward).

Week 28

Guest Hollow Labs

 Advanced Dissection Kit: Dissect the starfish, grasshopper, and crayfish.

Week 29

Guest Hollow Labs

Advanced Dissection Kit: Dissect the perch and the frog.

Grow a Frog Kit (Choose any kit that comes with a tadpole.)

Be aware that the frog you raise with this kit can live for years. As it grows larger, it will need a larger habitat so getting one is a future commitment.

Free option:
Scoop up a tadpole at a local pond, make a habitat for it, and feed it tadpole food.

Week 30

There are no labs this week.

Week 31

Guest Hollow Labs

Fetal Pig Dissection Kit (The fetal pig is also in the advanced dissection kit, so no need to repurchase if you bought the other kit.)

Make sure to order a kit that comes with an instruction booklet. You can also watch YouTube videos for instruction.

Week 32

There are no labs this week. This is the end of the curriculum.

Click here to return to the main Guest Hollow’s High School Biology Curriculum page.