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Lab Safety Activities for Elementary School Students

A laboratory can be a potentially harmful place, especially for elementary school kids. Hazards such as chemical spills, fires, eye trauma, burns and explosions call for mandatory rules to ensure lab safety. However, the young mind learns the most, not through command, but through fun and interaction. Therefore, activities should captivate the growing mind and facilitate learning so that lab safety becomes second nature.
  1. Worksheets

    • You could use worksheets to remind kids of lab safety. Children can play "Spot the Hazard," where they identify potential hazards hidden in a picture of a lab on a worksheet. Another could depict lab activity scenarios in which the child matches them with the appropriate protective equipment. Another activity can be an equipment hunt where students search for lab safety equipment listed on a worksheet, noting the location of each.

    Flash Cards and Posters

    • Another fun way of instilling lab safety in kids is with flash cards. The class can be divided into two teams and "If-Then" flash cards can be used. For example, "if" acid spills on skin, "then" wash thoroughly under running water. These cards are an interactive and competitive lab safety activity. Kids can also create posters showing safety measures. The class can vote on the best poster, which can then be laminated and displayed.

    Role Play

    • One of the best methods of learning is by teaching. The kids can teach their juniors or their own class about lab safety measures that need to be taken. Teams can be formed and each team can be given a set of rules to teach the class (or a junior class).

    Media

    • Different kinds of media can be used to augment teaching lab safety. Students can view slide shows or videos about lab safety. Also (and more effectively) different teams can be created and each can be given a theme and assemble a power-point presentation. Themes could include fire, chemicals and burn injuries.

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