Learn about germs

What are germs? Can you see germs? Where do they come from? How can you protect yourself from them? There are lots of questions to ask about germs. Here are some ideas of fun things to do that will give you a peek into the world of germs!

What You Do: Put a drop of lotion on your hands and rub them together to spread the lotion out evenly. With your hands over a sink or large bucket, have your helper put a pinch of glitter in the palm of one of your hands. With your hands still over the sink, make a fist with the hand that has glitter on it, then spread your fingers out. What do you see? Now press the palms of your hands together and pull them apart. What do you notice about your hands? Touch your helper’s hand. Now do you see anything on it? Get a paper towel and use it to wipe your hands clean of all the glitter. Is it working? After using the paper towel, try using soap and water to wash your hands. Did the glitter come off?

After getting the glitter on your hands, you should have noticed it spreading very easily to anything you touched, even your helper’s hand. When you tried to use a paper towel to remove the glitter, some of the glitter probably came off, but most of it stayed on your hands. But when you used soap and water to wash your hands, the glitter came off pretty easily. The glitter is acting the same way that the germs on your hands act – there are a lot of them, they spread around easily, and it can be tough to get them off. The difference is that germs are so small you can’t see them without a microscope, so you have to know when you may have come into contact with germs and wash your hands often.

If you accidently touched your mouth, nose, or eyes while doing this experiment, you may have found glitter getting left behind near these areas. Germs travel the same way and can easily enter your body if you touch your face with dirty hands, which can make you sick. That’s why it’s important to wash your hands before you eat. It is also important to wash your hands after touching something that might have germs, such as when you use the bathroom or play outside. If you don’t, the germs can easily spread to more places and to other people and cause sickness.

Growing Germs: Germs can be found just about everywhere, but some places have more germs than others. Try this experiment to see where germs are hidden. (Note: This experiment takes a week to complete.) What You Need: An adult helper, Gloves, Potato, Sharp knife, 4 Ziplock bags, Masking tape, Marker.