Science - Home Learning - Easter Holidays

How clean are your hands? I want you to carry out an experiment...

After spending some time at the playground, football field, or in the garden, it can be easy to see the dirt on our hands.

What you can’t see are the invisible-to-your-eye germs that gather on your hands throughout the day. To help you see the effect those germs have, give this this eye-opening experiment a try.

HAND HYGIENE EXPERIMENT

What you’ll need:

Three slices of bread
Three resealable bags

Instructions:

1. Label each of the three bags:

• Control
• Dirty
• Clean

2. Place one slice of bread in the “control” bag without touching it. You can use clean tongs, or turn the resealable bag inside out and use it like a glove to get the slice inside. Seal the bag.

3. Remove a second slice of bread and touch the bread with unwashed hands. Place the bread in the bag and seal it.

4. Wash your hands with soap and water.

5. Take a third slice of bread and touch the bread with freshly-washed hands. Place the bread in the bag and seal it.

6. Take all three sealed bags and put them in a cool, dry place.

Look at the bread daily and write down your observations, but do not take the bread out of the bags. In a few days, mold should start to appear. 

What slice of bread gets moldy first? 

Which grows the most mold? 

Which grows the least? 

If mold starts to appear, take a ruler and measure it and record your observations. You can even draw a picture of the bread each day, or keep a photo diary by taking pictures of the bread each day to watch the changes over time.