Just by you looking at kids science websites tells me something about you. You are interested in science, even if it is just to find one of those kids science websites to help with your science fair project. Or, maybe you are just crazy about science, like me.

Although there are tons of fantastic kids science websites, very few tell you what it really is like being a scientist. What is it like to work in a real laboratory? Yes I know that your teachers do a stunning job of demonstrating experiments and maybe you even have a chance to do some yourself, but have you ever asked a person who has a job in the laboratory what it is like doing what he does? Nope? Well pretend you are talking to him now. Let me tell you my experience as a scientist working in a lab.

I trained as a microbiologist, but also did some genetics, soil science and biochemistry. All of these fields are fascinating! Have you ever looked at yogurt under a microscope and realized that the "live culture" they talk about on the container is actually a culture of bacteria? When you have trained and worked as a scientist, you see the world slightly differently to the next guy.

So what are some of the scary things I have seen in a lab... hmmm... where to start?

Well the one time I was helping out in a laboratory practical class at the local university, when suddenly the room got a lot brighter and someone screamed hysterically. No, there wasn't anyone on fire, but there was a bench-top on fire with a microscope in the midst of flames. It was put out with the ever handy fire blanket, with the only damage being to the electrical cord of the microscope. The student concerned learned a valuable lesson that day - safety and careful working is essential in any laboratory.

I have worked with and seen many interesting samples. From the cow's ear that was submitted (don't worry the cow had died before the ear was taken as a sample) to bees (also dead) that were put in liquid nitrogen and then crunched and crushed up like peanut brittle to start the process of virus isolation.

Some of my own experiments while working in the laboratory that I did after I had finished the work I was assigned was to measure the pH of Coke. My goodness, did I get a shock - try it out sometime. The other thing I did was to pop a piece of Roquefort cheese under the microscope. Although I still drink coke, I have given up the cheese! But it was incredible to see. What you see under a microscope is another world.

The one time I was looking at chicken fecal samples (yup, I used to look at chicken poo) and counting worm eggs when all of a sudden into my field of view comes this creature that looks like it could have been from one of Hollywood's latest sci-fi movies. It turned out to be a feather mite. But I had nightmares for the rest of that week!

At times the pressure of working in a laboratory where you have to have results, because people are paying for them, can be quite hectic. On the other hand, if you are a true scientist, solving problems is all part of the fun.

Speaking of fun, one last story from my past. In one particular lab I worked in, because of the many instruments that generated heat, we suddenly had an influx of cockroaches. Although this problem was dealt with and sorted out within a day by the laboratory manager, a colleague and myself decided to save one roach. We popped him into a test tube with some cotton wool in the end so that he could not escape but still had air. He became our lab pet, "Fred the roach", for about a week. Although this is not good laboratory practice, who else can say they had a pet roach that lived in a test tube?