Friday, January 30, 2009

FYI – Germs are everywhere! And a Prize opportunity!



That’s really not new news as the 8th grade 4-H Clubs at CCJHS got to see today. Students got to participate in a hand-on demonstration to determine what was best way to get germs off our hands.

1st, I made them listen to me as I lectured them about germs; how most are harmless or helpful and only a small amount of germs (environment-wide) are pathogenic – aka “bad germs”. They learned that all it takes is 1 bad germ to get inside you & when that 1 bad germ turns into a few hundred a few hours later, you can get very sick.

Ignorance is bliss, but when it comes to germs and keeping your hands clean, ignorance can kill you. We used Glo Germ powder or Glitter Bug Potion and a blacklight to “show” us where germs like to hide and to show how easy it is to spread germs around. First we all took turns looking at each other with the powder/lotion all over us. Then, the class split into 3 treatment groups:

1. This group washed their hands by quickly rinsing in cold water & towel dried their hands.
2. This group washed with cold water (we wanted to use warm, but there was no warm water in the school) soap, rubbed for 20 seconds, and then towel dried their hands.
3. This group used 1 squirt of hand sanitizer.

The 4-Hers came up with their own conclusion as to the BEST method for REMOVING germs that may be on your hands. So find an 8th grade CCJHS 4-Her and ask them!!



I have a 4-H prize for anyone who can answer these questions correctly about today’s activity (you can work in groups too – no more than 5 people to a group). Everyone is welcome to try, just send me an email with the answers, the name of the people in your group, and your address if you’re not local!

1. How many germs, per square inch, can there be on your body?
2. How fast is a sneeze? (MPH)
3. How many people can you infect (potentially) from one sneeze?
4. What is the #1 way to prevent the spread of germs?
5. How long can germs live on inanimate surfaces?

Good luck 4-H fans!

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