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Why do you get a runny nose?
Sharing the gross fun of science and mucus with
your kids
With the start of
the cold and flu season coming, your kids may be curious about why
their nose runs and what mucus is. Here is a fun and interactive
home science experiment to help your kids learn about mucus and
how important it is to their bodies.
The “mucus” that you and your kids are
about to make is very similar to what is found in your nose and
mouth.
Materials
Procedure
Step 1: Heat 125 ml of water until it
boils and remove from the heat.
Step 2: Pour in 3 envelops of
unflavored gelatin, wait a few minutes until it softens and stir
with a fork.
Step 3: Add the 125 ml of corn syrup.
Step 4: Stir with the fork and lift
out long strands of “mucus”.
Step 5: After you are finished
experimenting with the mucus, it should be disposed of in the
trash.
Safety Warning:
An adult should help you with boiling the water. It can burn you.
Note:
As the water cools, you may need to add a spoonful or two of
water.
Your kids are sure to be amused and
maybe even a little grossed out with their creation of a bowl of
snot! The protein that is in the gelatin and the sugars from the
corn syrup are the same primary ingredients that real mucus is
made from. The long strands that you are able to lift out with
your fork are strands of protein – this helps to make it sticky,
too.
Spend a few
minutes explaining that as gross as mucus is, it serves a very
important function in their bodies.
Mucus is the slimy
sticky material that’s made inside the nose. It is the body’s way
of protecting the lungs from germs, bacteria, dirt and pollen. The
air that we breathe through the nose is full of these tiny
particles and without mucus they would get into the lungs, making
breathing difficult.
Mucus works with
tiny hairs, called cilia, which are found in the air-passage ways.
The hairs and mucus trap the tiny particles in the nose. Sometimes
the mucus dries around these tiny hairs forming what your kids may
call boogers.
On a normal day,
the average body produces a cup of mucus. There are many different
reasons why the body may start to produce extra mucus and the nose
may start to run.
When you have a
flu or cold, your nose often starts to run to protect your body
from further germs that may make your flu or cold worse. Blowing
your nose helps to clear the germ-ridden mucus from your body.
Often your body will try to do this on its own through coughing or
sneezing.
Sneezing or
coughing releases tiny mucus drops into the air. These germs can
be spread to other people when you sneeze and they inhale your
tiny mucus particles containing your flu or cold germs. Often that
is why your entire family gets sick once you do. Explain to your
kids that they can also catch the cold or flu by touching areas
that a person with a flu or cold has touched, such as a video
game. Washing their hands often will help stop the spreading of
these germs.
A runny nose and
itchy eyes, ears or throat are also possible signs that you are
allergic to something around you. It could be many different
things such as the pollen that flowers release into the air during
the spring. If you are allergic to pollen, then your body will
treat it is a germ and try to protect itself from it in a similar
way to how it reacts when you have a flu or cold.
About Mad Science
Mad
Science aims to spark the imagination and curiosity of children by
providing them with fun, entertaining and educational activities
that instill a clear understanding of what science is really about
and how it affects the world around them . For more information
about our After-School programs, In-Class workshops, Pre-school
workshops, Birthday Parties and Special Events call (727) 895-5595
or visit our website at
www.MadScience.org/wsTampaBay
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