Petri Dish Lid
name: label: user
content: Genentech, Inc.
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: This object is a petri dish lid with a circular paper grid featuring the numbers 1–50 taped to it. The paper grid was photocopied out of a laboratory manual, most likely one published by the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory or Maniatis Laboratory.
label: Description (Brief)
content: The lid was used in the laboratory at Genentech, a biotechnology company, as a way to distinguish between bacterial colonies. It was placed under a clean petri dish, and bacterial colonies were transferred onto the dish, one colony per grid square. Colonies could then be tracked using their grid number. A small sample from each colony could be removed and tested to give the characteristics of the entire colony. This system was essential at Genentech where often scientists needed to keep track of 100s to 1000s of colonies per research project.
label: Description (Brief)
content: Source:
label: Description (Brief)
content: Interview with Dan Yansura, Genentech scientist, 12/20/2012
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: used
content: United States: California, South San Francisco
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Biological Sciences
label: See more items in
content: Biotechnology and Genetics
label: See more items in
content: Science & Mathematics
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Genentech
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2012.0198.31
label: accession number
content: 2012.0198
label: catalog number
content: 2012.0198.31
objectType: label: Object Name
content: petri dish lid
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 5/16 in x 3 5/8 in; .79375 cm x 9.2075 cm