This week we learned about gravity and germs. What? Those don’t create a natural combination for you?
To start off both groups I rubbed Glo Germ lotion on my hands. I wanted to see how the germs “spread” as we touched objects throughout the lesson.
I started everyone off with a penny in hand. We quickly talked about why it doesn’t float off the hand when in your palm, palm facing up. And why it falls to the ground if the palm us facing down. Then I had them all place their palm vertically and slowly find the angle that the penny didn’t slide off.
This was all in preparation for the Oreos! After they had figured out what angle they could keep the penny on their hand, I gave everyone 2 Oreos and 2 Nilla Wafers. They had to get the cookies, one at a time, from their forehead to their mouth without using their hands.
Falling Oreos
Many of the older kids had done this challenge before and succeeded in getting something in their mouth pretty quickly. Most had only done it with Oreos though, and were surprised at the difference the Nilla Wafer provided. The Oreo was heavier, but more textured, while the wafer was lighter and much more smooth. I thought that one would stand out as the easier, but when I asked the kids, it was about 50/50 on which one they said was easier.
The younger kids had a harder time, but I think most of them eventually got something in their mouth. Both groups had a ton of laughing and hilarious faces!
Germs
About half way through class, we went in the garage, turned off the lights, and pulled out the black light. It was then that I told them about the Glo Germ. It honestly hadn’t spread very much. But to be faireveryone is used to not touching others because of COVID and most of what I touched was the packages for the cookies, so it didn’t have much chance to spread.
I had everyone put some Glo Germ on themselves, and we rechecked our hands. This time everyone lit right up! After being disgusted, and amazed, I sent everyone inside to wash their hands. They then cam back out and we checked what their hands looked like again. Some of the kids were surprised at how much we could still see, even with the older group! I sent them in again, this time with instructions to sing “Happy Birthday”, to get between their fingers, and the backs of their hands. The last check was much better.
We used the following to help with our builds
Black Lights
Glo Germ
