Winter Camp 2019: Life Lab

寒期營 2019: 生活實驗課

The Life Lab concept was born out of the idea of giving the students the opportunity to conduct two experiments. The first demonstrated how germs spread & the second showed the effects of sugar on our teeth.

The Glow Germ Experiment was a real eye opener to the students as the results clearly showed the amount of germs that thrive on our hands. The students were assigned into groups & asked to hypothesize the amount of germs on their hands before they were washed, after a quick wash, & finally after a three minute wash. By using the Glow Germ powder & visually seeing the germs under a black light, the students were able to record their findings. By comparing their hypothesized drawings to the actual results a discussion quickly ensued about how many germs are actually on our hands. “I cannot believe it” shouted out Ashley. “I will ALWAYS wash my hands with soap from now on” Amber said. We all concluded without a shadow of a doubt that our hands must be washed for at least three minutes each time. The students were excited to conduct this experiment, especially as it was their first time to experience the magic of black lights. Upon leaving the classroom, they all stated that they would tell their friends & become Wagor ambassadors for clean hands.

The Plaque Attack experiment was very exciting for the students as they got to understand the relationship between plaque on their teeth & eating sugar by growing yeast. After discussing how sugar affects our teeth & health, the students were split into groups and conducted two tests each. One included sugar & one had none. By using their worksheets, the students were able to compare their hypothesis and concluded importance of brushing their teeth. Therefore, they would eliminate the development of plaque. Sugar was a major factor in this experiment, and we clearly demonstrated the importance of healthy eating. In the end, we all agreed it was not a good idea to eat a lot of candy. But, in limited amounts, it was important for our mental well-being, we all agreed laughingly.

By Paul Gee

生活實驗的課程，其概念的產生是讓學生有機會進行兩種實驗 ; 第一個示範 “細菌是如何傳播”，第二個呈現 “糖對牙齒的影響”。

細菌顯示劑(Glow Germ)的實驗讓學生大開眼界了! 因為他們能清楚看到一個結果，細菌的數量在我們手上茁壯生長。我們將學生分組並要求他們先估計手上的細菌數量於幾種情形 ; 洗手之前，快速洗滌之後，以及洗完三分鐘之後。藉由細菌顯示劑的效果和特殊黑光的照明下，讓學生能親眼看到細菌的變化並記錄他們的發現。將學生的假設與實際結果進行比較，很快就討論出實際上有多少細菌在我們手上。“我簡直不敢相信”Ashley喊道。“從現在開始，我都會用肥皂洗手了”Amber說。毫無疑問地，我們得出了一個結論，當我們每次洗雙手時必須至少三分鐘。學生們很興奮地進行這項實驗，特別是因為這是他們第一次體驗黑燈的魔力。離開教室後，學生們都說他們會告訴自己的朋友，雙手要洗乾淨，成為Wagor洗手大使。

牙菌斑攻擊(Plaque Attach)實驗非常令學生興奮，因為他們藉由酵母的發酵了解牙菌斑與吃糖這件事情的關係。討論完糖如何影響我們的牙齒和健康之後，學生們分組並進行了兩項測試；一個包括糖和一個沒有糖。利用學習單，學生們比較出他們的假設和斷定刷牙的重要性。因此，他們將做到消滅牙菌斑的發展。糖是這個實驗的主要因素，我們能清楚地證明出健康飲食的重要性。最後，我們都同意吃過多的糖果不是一件好事。所以，食用適量的糖，對我們的心理健康是很重要，我們都同意且笑得很開心。