How Soap Works: Pepper and Soap STEM Experiment

Are you looking for an activity to show children why it's important to use soap when they wash their hands?  This pepper + soap STEM experiment is a favorite among early childhood and elementary school teachers and shows children exactly why they need to use soap.  It requires very few materials and... chances are... you already have them in your kitchen.  Keep reading to learn more!

Pepper and Soap STEM Experiment: This pepper and soap STEM + science experiment teaches young children the importance of using soap while washing their hands. #kellysclassroomonline

Disclosure: Affiliate links to Amazon are included in this post.

STEM Activity

No matter how many times we tell children what they need to do, we need to find ways to help them visualize what we are asking them.  This STEM activity is a good way to do that.  To complete this activity, you will need:

Learn about germs and the importance of washing your hands with this simple science demonstration and by reading Germs vs. Soap by Didi Dragon.

First, fill the bottom of the dishpan with approximately one inch of water.  Cover the entire surface of the water with black pepper.  The black pepper represents the germs our hands come into contact with.

Learn about germs and the importance of washing your hands with this simple science demonstration and by reading Germs vs. Soap by Didi Dragon.

Second, cover one of your fingers with dish soap.  (You could cover several fingers or your whole hand if you really want to.)  Once your finger is covered with soap, stick it into the water.  Notice how the 'germs' move away from your finger.

Learn about germs and the importance of washing your hands with this simple science demonstration and by reading Germs vs. Soap by Didi Dragon.

When you swirl your finger through the water, the 'germs' will move away from the soap!

Learn about germs and the importance of washing your hands with this simple science demonstration and by reading Germs vs. Soap by Didi Dragon.

What did we learn from this demonstration?  We learned that we need to use soap to keep the germs off of our hands.  We also learned to ALWAYS use soap when we wash our hands!


Did you enjoy reading about this Pepper and Soap STEM Experiment? If so, check out these blog posts for more STEM experiments and children's books:

No comments:

Post a Comment