Yeshivat Noam fifth grade scientists have been learning about beneficial and harmful microbes. The students got to experience a bacterial competition—a race between the “good guys” and the “bad guys”—first hand, when they turned Kirby cucumbers into pickles. Each lab group attempted to create the perfect salt conditions for lactic acid bacteria to survive and thrive. Lactic acid bacteria digested the cucumber sugars and produced lactic acid, which turned Kirbies into tangy pickles. David Wallach (master pickle maker) offered valuable guidance.