Lunge for Lungs

 

We need air to breathe – and live – but we can’t do that without lungs. Discover the wonders of lungs with these online activities. You’ll find that lungs are a breath of fresh air – and more.

 CONNECT:

• Learn 10 fun facts about lungs at https://humanbodylearning.com/facts-about-lungs-kids/
• Watch how lungs work at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0giiDDBJVQU&ab_channel=NemoursKidsHealth
• Fish don’t have lungs so how they breathe? See how at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj5v3n6Nlm8&ab_channel=SciShowKids

CREATE:

• Use your lung power at https://www.brighthorizons.com/resources/activity/education/using-lung-power
• Build your own lung model by following the images at https://discoverycentre.thekids.org.au/activities/science-at-home-build-a-lung-model/
• Explore lungs by trying these idea starters to at https://kidsdiscover.com/teacherresources/lungs-games-and-activities/

 

CARE:

• Follow these tips to keep your lung healthy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwsljkMSVok&ab_channel=NHLBI
• Participate in a lung force walk to help cure lung cancer; see the details at https://www.lung.org/get-involved/events/lung-force-run-walks
• Read about common childhood respiratory diseases at https://choc.org/news/7-common-respiratory-diseases/ 

 

CAREERS:

Do you gasp for a career with lungs? You could be a physician, a therapist, a scientist, a veterinarian, a researcher. Here is a sample of job that might take your breath away.

• See what a lung research does at https://vimeo.com/739858943
• Watch the work of pulmonary doctors at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEoxADZuMsE&ab_channel=MountSinaiHealthSystem
• https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/respiratory-care

AND here are jobs that can lead to lung disease: https://resources.healthgrades.com/right-care/copd/occupations-linked-to-lung-diseases

Blood lines

 

You know what blood is — it's that red stuff that oozes out if you get a paper cut. But what is blood, really, and what does it do? Explore these activities to get these and more answers to our life stream.

 

CONNECT:

• Find out how blood works at https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/blood.html
• Watch how blood journeys around the body at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s5iCoCaofc%20
• Watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnEprHobSAA  to find out why there are different blood groups.

 

CREATE:

• Experiment with blood-y hands-on science activities at https://www.weareteachers.com/circulatory-system-activities/
• Learn about blood by playing this game: https://www.tinytap.com/activities/g1dv5/play/blood
• Explore blood typing science at https://learning-center.homesciencetools.com/article/blood-typing-science-for-kids/. While there is information about a blood typing kit, you don’t have to go that far; the experiment thereafter is informative in and of itself. But DO ask about your blood type the next time you see your doctor.

 

CARE:

• What happens when people donate blood? Watch the process at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90WPE4_JRD8
• What happens during a blood transfusion for children? Parents, get the facts at https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/blood-transfusions-for-children
• Watch this family-friendly video about treating minor cuts and bruises at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsmwXnzl40g

 

CAREERS:

Don’t faint at the sight of several careers that are blood-related. Instead, explore some of them here (no cuts were made in selecting these websites).

• https://www.phlebotomyexaminer.com/careers-in-blood-work/
• https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/healthcare-science/roles-healthcare-science/life-sciences/blood-sciences
• https://www.jobs.net/article/cb-138-talent-network-healthcare-8-creepy-careers-in-healthcare-proceed-with-caution/

We’re All Ears

 

Ears are one of animals’ most important organ – and they come in different sizes and shapes. ‘Ears hoping you will perk up your ears with these online activities.

 

CONNECT:

• Watch how the ear works at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mptjEoHF2aI
• And how do hearing aids work? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJBjIEUbaeM
• Watch the different kinds of ears that animals have at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAo3gsDptFM
• Guess which animal hears best – and check your guess at https://www.pbs.org/video/hearing-which-animal-hears-best-vnwtlx/

 

CREATE:

Make your own animal ear headbands by following the directions at https://kidspot.co.nz/activities/make-your-own-animal-ears-headbands/

What would you hear differently if your ears were shaped differently? Experiment at https://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/designer-ears

Discover how to create your own ear model at https://www.123homeschool4me.com/ear-anatomy-science-project_86/

Learn some basic American Sign Language signs at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUy9Dos9264

 

CARE:

• Ears are subjected to lots of conditions: water, sun, even piercing. Here’s some ways to take care of your ears: https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/ear-care.html
• What is hearing loss? And how do you communicate if you can’t hear? Here are some explanations: https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/hearing-impairment.html
• Earwax is healthy – until it builds up too much. Parents can read how to safely clean their children’s ears at https://www.choa.org/parent-resources/everyday-illnesses/ear-cleaning-in-kids
• What are ear infections? What are the symptoms? How do you treat them? Read the answers at https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/ear-infections-children

 

CAREERS:

Are you hearing a call for an ear-related career? You could become an ear doctor (audiologist), veterinarian – as well as a sign interpreter, sound engineer, musician, jewelry maker, or even ear piercer

• http://www.listencarefully.org/5-careers-in-hearing/
• https://www.jewelers.org/ja/careers-education/jewelry-careers-guide
• https://www.planitplus.net/JobProfiles/View/715/62
• https://thebestschools.org/careers/jobs-working-deaf-hard-hearing/
• https://www.disabledperson.com/blog/posts/top-10-jobs-for-people-with-hearing-impairments

And here are 8 jobs that lead to hearing loss – and how to prevent it: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/8-jobs-that-lead-to-hearing-loss-and-how-to-prevent-it/

.

What a gas!

Gas is everywhere: in vehicles, in homes, in signs, even in your body. And air itself is a gas. Where does it come from, and how does it work? It’s a gas doing these activities to learn about gas.

CONNECT:

• Did you know that sea plants and animals are the source of gas? Read how natural gas is formed, and how we access it at https://www.electricchoice.com/kids/gas/
• What’s a fart? Gas! Read how it happens at https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/fart.html
• The planet Saturn is largely gas. If you could put all of the planets into a pool of water, Saturn is the only one that would float. Read about this gas giant at https://www.esa.int/esaKIDSen/SEMJL6WJD1E_OurUniverse_0.html

CREATE:

• Create a trivia game based on these gas facts: http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/earth/gas.html and http://www.scienceforkidsclub.com/gas-facts.html
• How do you see gas? Watch this experiment at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDTF6l2WhYo. Then you might try this at home.
• Here are 10 kid-friendly experience on the science of gas: https://www.kiwico.com/blog/2017/02/02/kid-friendly-science-experiments-gas/

CARE:

• Follow these rules for natural gas safety: http://www.alliantenergykids.com/PlayingItSafe/NaturalGasSafety/000557
• Meet the greenhouse gases at https://climatekids.nasa.gov/greenhouse-cards/
• What is the connection between humans and carbon dioxide? Watch the impact at https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/global-warming-causes/

CAREERS:

Working with gas isn’t just hot air. Check out the opportunities below.

https://www.oilandgasiq.com/strategy-management-and-information/articles/oil-gas-industry-an-introduction

https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/careers/college-to-career/chemistry-careers/oil-petroleum.html

https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/auto-mechanic

GIve a Big Hand for Hands

Aren’t hands amazing? They move in so many ways, and have so many uses. They certainly come in handy, as these activities show.

CONNECT:

• What are hands made of? Bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles, nerves, and blood vessels. See each of them at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyl6eoU-3Rg
• How does the hand work? Read the details at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279362/
• Did you know that your hand can be used to understand math beyond just counting your fingers? Discover how your hand demonstrates the Divine Proportion and other math concepts at http://www.goldennumber.net/human-hand-foot/
• Create a trivia game based on these fun facts about hands: http://www.eatonhand.com/hw/facts.htm

CREATE:

• Try some of these hands-on crafts for kids: http://www.craftsforkids.com/
• Hands are the main way that we use the sense of touch. This website on the senses includes many experiments and activities in which the participant is blindfolded in order to heighten the sense of touch: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chsense.html
• Think drawing a hand is just drawing a circle and 5 lines? There is so much more! Look at the possibilities at http://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/human-anatomy-fundamentals-how-to-draw-hands--cms-21440
• What kind of fingerprint are you? Try this experiment: https://www.nsta.org/sciencematters/docs/Shippensburg-FingerPrinting2.pdf

CARE:

• Show your care of the environment by making crafts from recycled materials: http://www.handsoncrafts.org/
• No matter how old you are or what you do for a living, you are always using your hands. When there is something wrong with them, you may not be able to do your regular activities. Find out about possible hand problems and how to prevent or deal with them at  https://medlineplus.gov/handinjuriesanddisorders.html
• Choosing the right pair of gloves or mittens for snow sports can be the difference between a fun-filled, comfortable outing and a miserable trip with frigid fingers. Learn the details at https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/snow-gloves-and-mittens--how-to-choose.html
• And if you have ink on your hands (say you did fingerprint experiments), be crafty, and make something for a friend: http://www.triciagoyer.com/15-fingerprint-crafts/

CAREERS:

Do you like to work with your hands? Almost all jobs use hands, but some jobs specialize in hands: hand care specialists, health professionals hand models, clothiers, forensics.

• Here are top jobs for hands-on workers: http://www.insidejobs.com/blog/top-jobs-for-hands-on-workers
• Communicate with your hands as a sign language interpreter: http://www.deafwebsites.com/sign-language/career-sign-language-interpreter.html
• Watch how detectives use fingerprints at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ohDwGPeqgE

Put Some Skin in the Game

What’s the largest organ of your body? Your skin! Your skin has a big role in keeping your body together – in several ways. Explore the following websites – they are more than skin deep.

CONNECT:

• Skin can tell stories; explore the stories about the art and culture of Polynesian tattoo at http://www.pbs.org/skinstories/
• Do you wear animals? How about their skins? Here are the top 12 animals you probably didn’t realize suffered for fashion: http://www.petakids.com/photos/animals-people-wear/
• Read the history of leather at http://www.leatherresource.com/history.html
• Compare how real and synthetic leather are made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM0MR2fyYRk and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGUZgs2TYTI
• What do movies and skin have in common? Watch how films have treated skin conditions, which actors have coped with skin diseases, and how movies promote myths about acne and other skin conditions -- at http://www.skinema.com/

CREATE:

• What is Mahndi? This is a 5000 year old form of body art that started in the Middle East and North Africa. Try your hand at it, consulting http://ssbea.mercer.edu/patelr/mehndi.htm and http://www.hennadesignsideas.com/henna-designs-for-kids/ and http://www.crayola.com/lesson-plans/mehndi-hands-lesson-plan/
• Pattern your art after animals with these nature-inspired activities: http://www.kidsplaybox.com/preschooler-pattern-activity/
• Try these leather crafts (remember than you can use “fake” leather): http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/leather-artscraftsideaskids.html
• Got that itchy feeling from poison ivy, oak or sumac? “Leaves of three, let them be.” Teach this tip and other recommendations found at http://poisonivy.aesir.com/view/

CARE:

• Find out how to take care of your skin so it will keep care of you: http://kidshealth.org/en/kids/skin-care.html
• Explore symptoms, treatment, and prevention of skin conditions at https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/skinconditions.html
• Get the “skinny” on acne, at http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Acne/default.asp
• What’s the most common cancer? Skin cancer. You find see trends in indoor tanning among US high school students, and that could raise their risk for later cancer. Leran how to protect yourself and your family at http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/index.htm
• How safe are the cosmetics that your family buys for the skin? Search the cosmetic database at http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ to find out.

CAREERS:

There will always be skin, so skin-related careers have a clear future: doctor, chemist, manufacturer, sales staff, esthetician, even artist. Check out these career leads:

http://meded.ucsf.edu/ume/career-information-dermatology

http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/esthetician-and-skincare-specialist