Identification

• A Petri dish is a shallow round covered dish used in scientific laboratory experiments.
  
  

Development

• The Petri dish was developed by Richard Julius Petri, a laboratory assistant to the microbiologist Robert Koch.
  
  

Original Materials

• Petri dishes were originally constructed of glass.
  
  

Modern Materials

• Modern Petri dishes are commonly made of plastic.
  
  

Agar Plates

• Molten agar is commonly poured into the bottom of Petri dishes and used as a food source to culture and grow bacteria.
  
  

Other Uses

• Petri dishes are also used in science classes to grow organisms such as plant seedlings or observe the movements of small animals such as pillbugs.