Chapter 9

9 The holograms vanished in a flash of purple light. In the center of the room, a large square machine with knobs and buttons appeared. Next to it was a lab table lined with small, round plastic containers. "What's that?" asked Aria, pointing to the machine. Dr. Crisp walked toward it and set Max on the lab table. "This is the Maker Maze's very own turbo-powered, high-speed incubator!" she replied.

"What's an incubator?" asked Pablo, scratching his cheek. "An incubator is a machine we scientists often use in experiments. It keeps the environment just right so we can grow cool stuff!" Dr. Crisp explained. "Like germs!" added Violet.

"Bingo!" said Dr. Crisp, giving a thumbs-up. "Speaking of germs, time to put on our PPE!" Dr. Crisp began to explain the last level as she pulled the Makers' gear from her backpack. "We are about to grow some germs. YOUR germs!" Dr. Crisp picked up one of the round containers. "On these! This is a petri dish." It was filled with something that looked like clear, firm Jell-O. "PEE-tree dish," Violet, Pablo, and Aria repeated slowly. "What's that stuff inside?" asked Violet. Dr. Crisp removed the lid. "It's called agar. That's a fancy name for germ food."

"AH-gur," said Aria. "Yuck!" She stuck out her tongue. Dr. Crisp turned away from the Makers. "Stand back!" she said. She took a deep breath and coughed onto the petri dish and agar. Then she opened the incubator and slid the container inside. She quickly closed the door and pressed the big green start button. The Incredible Incubator began shaking and making strange beeping sounds. Max's anti-allergy cage rattled on the table along with the other petri dishes.

Squeak! "What's happening?" asked Pablo. "It's going to explode!" said Aria. "Nope! It's just working some Maker Maze magic!" Dr. Crisp shouted over the noise of the incubator. "Normally, growing germs takes many hours. But thanks to our Incredible Incubator, in a few seconds you'll be in for a surprise!" DING! Dr. Crisp smiled and opened the machine. A little steam came out as she removed the dish. When she turned around and showed it to Violet, Pablo, and Aria, they couldn't believe what they saw. Violet's eyes grew wide with amazement. "Are those germs?" she asked. The agar was covered with tiny little dots. There were hundreds of them! "You bet your beaker they are! My germs!" replied Dr. Crisp. "And we're going to get to grow our own germs?" asked Violet, bouncing in place. She

couldn't keep her excitement inside. "Well," said Dr. Crisp, "there's a twist." "There's always a twist," Pablo said to Aria with a smile. "For this level, you'll need to cough onto these petri dishes. But," she said, holding a clean one in