Making Winogradsky Columns

Join Sophia to prepare a set of Winogradsky Columns to model chemophotosynthesis in the Archaen, Proterozoic and today.

Join Sophia and other EES teachers for some end of school holiday socialising while making a set of Winogradsky Columns to use in your EES, Biology, Agriculture or Investigating Science classroom during 2025.

A Winogradsky column is a transparent, miniature ecosystem that’s used to study microorganisms and their interactions. They are a column filled with mud, water, and carbon, iron and sulfur sources. Over time, the column’s chemical and environmental gradients create distinct zones where different microorganisms thrive. It is used for studying microbial communities, biogeochemical cycles, and pollutant transformation. It’s a valuable teaching tool in Ag, EES and Biology to model bacterial and Archaea sediment ecosystems.