Health & Wellness Fridays: Glitter Germs

What are germs? They’re teeny tiny living things. Some germs are good; some germs are bad and make us sick. They’re so small we can’t see them unless we have a really powerful microscope! 

Since we can’t see real germs, today we’re going to use glitter to learn how germs are spread and how we can wash them off to keep ourselves healthy. 

Materials & Instructions

Glitter
Lotion
A sink
A paper towel or regular towel

STEP 1. Squeeze some lotion onto your hands and rub it in.
STEP 2. Sprinkle some glitter onto your moisturized hands, then rub the glitter in to spread it evenly over your hands. The glitter will represent germs.
STEP 3. Shake hands with someone else or touch a surface. Did you leave behind any glitter germs?
STEP 4. Try to wipe the glitter germs off with a paper towel. Did they all come off?
STEP 5. Try to rinse the glitter germs off with cold water. Did they all come off?
STEP 6. Try to wash the glitter germs off with warm water and soap, then wipe your hands with a towel. Count to 20 while you scrub or sing your ABCs. How much glitter came off this time?

Lesson

We learned a few things from our glitter germs. First, just like glitter, germs are easily spread! We share germs anytime we touch something or someone else. What would happen if you shook hands with someone and then they shook hands with someone else? Your glitter germs could be shared with someone you never even met!

If germs are so easily spread, what can you do to keep yourself and others healthy? It’s easy: wash your hands! Just like when we washed off our glitter, we need soap and water in order to get our hands clean. When we scrub our hands for 20 seconds, we wash the germs on our hands right down the drain. Goodbye, germs!

Vocab Words

Germs: Teeny tiny living things. Some germs are good; some germs are bad and make us sick.
Moisturize: To make something less dry. 
Microscope: A special tool that helps us look at very small things, like germs, that we can’t see with just our eyes.