Do your kids or pupils understand how germs (viruses and bacteria) spread? Here is a visual disease spread experiment for them to really picture the process and understand why it’s important to follow preventative measures.

You will need:

• One balloon
• Some glitter
• Mats, newspaper or something that will cover the floor and make it easier to clean afterwards (only do outside if you have biodegradeable glitter)
• A chair or stool to stand on

Method:

• Pour some glitter inside the balloon and blow it up, then tie it.
• Place the mats on the floor and the chair in the center.
• Stand on the chair and ask the kids to gather around you. You can tell them that the ballon is going to be a simulation for a sneeze.
• Pop the balloon! It’s now raining glitter, that’s why we recommend you use something on the floor to help with the cleaning (however kids will carry them forever!)
• Have the kids counting how many of them have glitter on and got ‘infected’. How far did the sneeze go during this disease spread experiment?

The science bit:

• • The balloon pop represents a sneeze and the glitters are all the germs that spread when somebody sneezes or coughs.
  • With the glitter, it is easy to see how far a fake sneeze can make germs travel and how many people can become infected if somebody sneezes around them without covering their face. This is one of the ways diseases spread around when preventatitive measure aren’t applied.

Sneeze in your arm or in a tissue, then wash your hands!