Use Giant Microbes to Teach Hand Washing to Children

Teaching children about the importance of hand washing for preventing colds can be challenging, when you are trying to talk about those nasty, disgusting, but very invisible germs.

Finding ways to make those invisible germs 'visible' can help in teaching children about germs and good hand hygiene.

One of the ways to help children see their germs is with fun books, toys and germ kits. These silly germ toys are one of many cute and entertaining way to make teaching children about good hand washing techniques a lot more fun. I discovered them researching information for my lens on "Teaching Children About Germs" and have a common cold virus toy of my own.

In addition to books and germ-inspired stuffed toys handwashing or glo germ kits help make it easier for children to visualize the germs and better understand the reasons behind keeping their hands clean. Using silly books, toys and germ kit are fun ways to make normally invisible germs 'visible' and help teach children about illness-causing microbes. I include five of the most common disease causing microbes that have been turned into toys (Rhinovirus, Orthomyxovirus, Bordetella pertussis, Shigella dysenteriae and Escherichia coli in case you want to add them as more visual aids.

This lens was inspired by the IMMINENT Challenge for August 5th, to create a lens about something that is teeny tiny! I couldn't think of much that was teeny tinier than a common cold virus or the rhinovirus which is 30 nanometers or 309 meters in size. (To compare a sheet of paper is about 100,000 nanometers thick)

Common Cold Virus (Rhinovirus) plush toy available on Amazon

The Molecular surface of the capsid of human rhinovirus 16, one of causes of the common cold by Robin S.

The rhinovirus is one of the smallest viruses with a diameter of 30 nanometers.*

Other viruses like smallpox are 10 times lager at 300 nanometers.

* One nanometer is equal to one-billionth of a meter or 109

Used Under a Creative Commons License

Find out more about just how small a nano is at the United States National Nanotechnology Initiative.

This fun and entertaining Handwashing kit makes it easy for teachers, parents, daycare providers and program leaders to teach children about the importance of keeping hands clean.

If I was still teaching about germs in kids classroom's this is the kit I would want to be using.

Teaching children about hand washing helps them to stay healthier, which ultimately ensures that everyone else in the house will be healthier too.

When my daughters were much younger, I went into their classrooms and attended club meetings with fun books and the Glo Germ Kit. It was a fun way to help the kids 'see' the invisible germs and perhaps understand why they need to be washing their hands.

The Handwashing Kit below is very reminiscent of the Glo Germ Kit using germ detecting gels and a UV light, but they also include products that feature Sniffles their adorable larger than life cold virus germ as a fun way to educate children.

This soap dispenser with the rhinovirus is an adorable way to remember to wash your hands. I knew when I saw one, I'd have to get one for us.

Common Cold Soap Dispenser available on Amazon

ScienceFx shows the importance of hand washing using Glo Germ powder on a little stuffed animal.

I could easily see using one of these stuffed germs as the stuffed toy that gets tossed around the classroom as a demonstration in spreading germs.

A Helpful Education Poster on Handwashing available on Amazon.

There are certain times when you need to make sure to wash your hand before doing something. These include:

1. Before, during, and after preparing food
2. Before eating food
3. Before and after caring for someone who is sick
4. Before and after treating a cut or wound

   
   

   Information from CDC's Handwashing: Clean Hands Save Lives

There are certain times when you need to make sure to wash your hand after doing something. These include:

1. After using the toilet
2. After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet
3. After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
4. After preparing food
5. After caring for someone who is sick
6. After treating a cut or wound
7. After touching an animal or animal waste
8. After handling pet food or pet treats
9. After touching garbage

   
   

   Information from CDC's Handwashing: Clean Hands Save Lives

This cute plush toy, the cough, Bordetella pertussis helps make the point to wash your hands.

Sniffles is a cartoon version of the cold virus that can be used for teaching hand washing.

The Common Cold toy is one of my favorite. My daughters both want one of the key chains to carry with their backpacks for school.

Tiny Microbes turned into Plush Toys

GIANT microbes creates stuffed animals that look like tiny microbes, only a million times actual size!

Their products make for educational, humorous and fun gift idea for teachers, nurses, doctors and those training to be health care providers: college students, medical students, nursing students and science students.

This Giant Microbes Lens was included on the IMMINENT Highlight Reel for the Tiny Quest.

What do you think about these science-oriented educational toys?