<strong>3 fascinating hygiene STEAM activities for youngsters</strong>
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the hygiene habits of kids have been the biggest concerns for parents, and rightly so. Children are used to touching every nook and corner and then put the hands inside their mouths, allowing germs to sneak in. In times like this, things can’t get scarier than this. Not only coronavirus, there are millions of other bacteria and viruses lurking around us. These make children with bad hygiene more susceptible to illnesses. This is why it has become all the more imperative to educate children about the importance of hygiene and teach them how to maintain it. This is where STEM comes into play as it encourages young minds to engage in “learning by doing.” So, we have combined hygiene with STEM and compiled a list of fun activities to help kids understand the science behind cleanliness and hygiene.
Germ hunting
Most of the germs around us are microscopic and we can’t see them with our naked eyes. In order to help your kids, understand that even apparently clean hands can contain several germs, try this fun activity.
What You’ll Need:
- Tables
- Chairs
- Door handles
- Hand wipes
How to:
- Ask the kids if their hands are clean or not. It’s likely that they will answer in the affirmative. Ask them to touch surfaces like the door, table, chairs etc.
- Now repeat the same question. The goal is to reinforce the concept that germs are mostly invisible to human eyes. Chances are, they will still agree that their hands look clean.
- Ask them to wipe their apparently clean hands on them. Evidently, the wipes will turn dirty. Now explain to the kids how, when their hands looked clean, were actually filled with germs.
Making hand wash posters
Once kids learn what germs and viruses really are, it’s time to teach them about the proper way to wash hands. The goal is to follow the golden rule of 20 seconds and not rush the process. Once they are clear about this, ask them to make a hand wash poster. This will not help them and others remember the process. Hang it on the wall right above the wash basin.
What you’ll need:
- Art paper
- Red sketch pens
- Water tap
- Liquid handwash
- Towel
How to:
- Take an art paper and make a heading in block letters using the colour red. It should read “HOW TO WASH HANDS IN THE CORRECT SEQUENCE?”
- Now chronologically mention the right steps. Turn the tap on using the elbows. Then wet the hands and apply a blot of liquid hand-wash. Next, scrub the hands while counting 1 to 20 at a normal speed and rinse. Wash the hands off properly and turn the tap off using the elbow. Wipe them off using fresh towels.
- Help your kids sketch these steps on the Art paper.
Pretend cough & sneeze
Kids often fail to understand or forget the simple rule that they should cover the mouth while coughing or sneezing. To make them aware of its importance, try out the pretend cough & sneeze activity with them.
What you’ll need:
- Spray water bottle
- Coloured water
How to:
- Take a spray water bottle and fill it with coloured water.
- Now pretend to sneeze or cough, and spray the coloured water every time you do so.
- Ask them to observe how far the water travelled. This will help them understand how germs travel from one person to another, without either of them realising.