Science Projects on the Spread of Cold Germs Through Sneezes
Sneezing is a way that humans transfer germs, including the common cold, to one another. While viruses and bacteria are too small to see with the naked eye, there are visual projects that students can do that show how germs get transferred and what kinds of germs live in our bodies.
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Glitter Germs
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You can show young children how germs are transferred by using glitter. Put a little hand lotion on one child's hands and have him rub his hands together to spread the lotion evenly. Place a little glitter into his hands and have him put his hands together. The glitter represents germs. Now have the child touch the hands of a friend, who can touch the hands of another friend. The glitter represents how germs travel easily from one person to the next. You can easily extend this lesson into one about proper hand washing by having children wash their hands and note how they transfer glitter to the faucet and can pick those germs up again. Discuss why sneezing into one's elbow is more effective than covering a sneeze with one's hands.
Growing Germs
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Students who are a bit older may be interested in seeing what kinds of germs inhabit the body, even when one is not sick. Prepare some agar in clean petri dishes; this involves heating the agar and pouring some into the dish. Then have students use swabs to swab the inside of their cheeks or noses, and rub the swabs across the surface of the dish in a zig-zag pattern. Wait a few days and examine the colonies that grow in the dishes. You can also compare the colonies between students. These are germs that are transferred during a sneeze.
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Germy Potatoes
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Younger children may think that because they cannot see dirt on their hands, this means that their hands are clean. Wash your own hands and peel and slice some potatoes. Give a slice to each child and keep a few untouched to use later for comparison. Let them wipe their hands but not wash before the experiment. Have each child rub their hands on a potato slice and put it in a plastic bag. Label the bags to ensure that the touched and untouched potatoes are separate. Wait a week and compare the potatoes. Discuss with the students why washing is important.
Balloon Sneeze
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Germs travel through the air when a person sneezes. This can be demonstrated with a balloon. Take a balloon and put some confetti inside of it, then inflate the balloon. Try not to get moisture inside, as this will cause the confetti to stick instead of fly. Put the balloon on the floor and make some circles around it at 5, 10, 20 and 30 inches using some string or by drawing on a piece of paper under the balloon. Pop the balloon with a pin. The confetti represents germs. Observe how most of the germs are centered around the popped balloon, but some can travel much farther. Germs from a sneeze can travel even farther than the confetti in the balloon. Discuss how keeping one's distance from someone who is sick and sneezing can help prevent germ transfer.
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References
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