This document provides instructions for preparing bacterial culture media and growing bacteria in the laboratory. It discusses three key steps: 1) preparing suitable culture media with nutrients and minerals to support bacterial growth, 2) sterilizing media and containers to remove other organisms, and 3) adjusting the pH of the media. Specific recipes are provided for preparing nutrient agar and nutrient broth to culture bacteria. The document also describes inoculating and incubating the media, staining bacterial samples, and examining them under a microscope.