This activity is one of my favorites and the students really enjoy it too. It is a great way to demonstrate germs that students carry on their hands, even when they appear clean. I used the potato hand washing activity with my Foods and Nutrition students today but the message is simple enough for all ages to understand.
You can purchase chemicals and sprays that make germs on hands “glow,” but those are expensive and unnecessary. All you need for this activity is three potatoes and three sandwich bags.
Begin by peeling the three potatoes (compost the peels!) and scrub them for 30 seconds with hand soap.
Put one potato in a bag as the control.
Pass the next potato around the class. Encourage the students to rub their hands all over the potato.
Demonstrate proper hand washing: Scrubbing nails, tops, bottoms, and betweens, wrists, etc. Also, scrub for a complete 30 seconds.
After the students have touched the “dirty” potato, send the students to the kitchens to practice hand washing.
After the students have washed their hands, pass around the last potato.
We'll be observing these over the next week. I'll keep you posted with updates! (Gross!)
*Update* See daily pictures of the potatoes here.
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