Germ Learning: Create a Microbe Zoo From Clay

Help your kids grasp that bacteria are ever-present — and hand-washing is much needed — with this fun activity.

Feb 05, 2019

Ages

3-10

Germ Learning: Create a Microbe Zoo From Clay

Feb 05, 2019

This colorful project will remind kids that bacteria are everywhere—and that handwashing with soap and water before every meal is super important!

Play dough and modeling clay make it easy for young scientists to sculpt colorful microbes that can be used to create a microbe zoo. (If your young scientist is ready to grow his or her own microbes, check out The Magic School Bus World of Germs Science Kit.)

You’ll Need

  • Play dough or modeling clay
  • Small jars or containers for microbes (optional)
  • a frame (optional)

What to Do

Step 1: Explain to your young learner that microbes are very important living things that cover almost every surface around us, but that they're too small to see without a microscope. (A book like The Magic School Bus Science Chapter Book #6: The Giant Germ can give a more in-depth explanation.)

Step 2: Tell him that bacteria are one type of microbe. Ask him to say “bacteria.”

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Step 3: Most bacteria are shaped like spheres (ball-shaped), rods, curved rods or spirals. They can exist alone, or as chains or clumps. Ask your child to roll some play dough or clay into each of the shapes. Suggest that she wrap the clay around a pencil or skewer to make a spirochete (spiral-shaped bacterium).
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Step 4: Let your child make lots of bacteria and sort them into containers, depending on their shape. Suggest that he make some clumps and chains of spheres or rods. 
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Step 5: Glue the containers into a frame to create a “Microbe Zoo.”

Step 6: Tell your child that although many bacteria help keep us healthy, certain strains of Streptococcal bacteria, Salmonella bacteria, and E.coli can make us sick, which is why it’s important to wash hands before preparing and eating food. 

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Step 8: Display your “Microbe Zoo” in the bathroom as a reminder to wash hands.

The Science Behind the Fun

Micro means “small” and microbes are very tiny living things that can only be seen under a microscope. Bacteria are one type of microbe, which are very important for the health of our planet, and for human health as well.  In fact, there are more bacterial cells than human cells in our bodies, mostly in our intestines and on our skin.

Bacteria can be found everywhere, from deep sea trenches to Earth’s atmosphere, where they may affect cloud formation. People use them to make food, like cheese and yogurt, and some bacteria can “talk” to each other, using chemical signals. They are single-celled organisms which are usually spherical (cocci), rod-shaped (bacilli), or spiral-shaped (spirochetes). Some bacterial species exist as single cells, but others group together to form clumps or chains.

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Unfortunately, some Streptococcus bacteria (spherical) and some E.coli and Salmonella bacteria (rod-shaped) can make people sick. Most harmful bacteria can be washed off of hands by scrubbing with regular soap and water. Soap kills bacteria and loosens the oil on fingertips and hands, allowing bacteria and other microbes, like viruses, to be washed away. Singing the ABC’s while washing your hands ensures enough time to scrub away as many microbes as possible.

If your child enjoyed this project, they may love molding clay ocean critters with a fun Klutz Jr. kit made specially for little hands.

Learn About Germs with Awesome Science Books & Kits!

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