This post is by David Coli and it originally appeared on MicroBE.net

The Science Cheerleaders, in partnership with SciStarter and UC Davis, conducted our first large-scale public microbial sampling event for Project MERCCURI (a.k.a. Microbes in Spaaaace!) at the San Antonio Spurs game on April 12! Around 330 teachers from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) conference bought tickets to the game. After the game many of them came down on the court to take photos, shoot baskets and sample the microbes on their cell phones and shoes. We also took a number of surface samples from around the court for our “microbial playoffs” project. We gave away stuffed microbes, t-shirts, mission patches and hundreds of information fliers. And now…it’s time to analyze and share the findings. One lucky sample is heading to the International Space Station!



We’ve already collected microbes from the Sacramento Kings stadium, the Orlando Magic Stadium, Buzz Aldrin’s shoes and other awesome locations with hundreds of citizen scientists.
Here’s where we will be collecting microbes next!
Tonight: Yuri’s Night in New York City
April 20: Philadelphia Science Festival
April 25: Phillies game! (Pittsburgh Pirates vs the Phillies!)
April 27: Atlanta Girl Scouts STEM gala!
Follow along on Twitter: #spacemicrobes @scistarter @scicheer or on Facebook: Science Cheerleader and SciStarter