Chelsea Higgins
The Immune System is a very complex topic with many moving pieces. A relatively simple way of introducing the immune system to kids of all ages is discussing immune specificity. Antigens are like the flags of the invader pathogens in the body. Antibodies recognize specific antigens and attach to them, showing the immune system the problem for phagocytosis, signaling, and more. For more information, see my book. (https://www.amazon.com/Immunology-Eye-Level-Artistic-Immune/dp/B087LXPS6G/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=immunology+at+eye+level&qid=1588258160&sr=8-1)
To teach specificity, we give the kids colored gloves and matching balloons. For my purposes, I let the kids grab whatever colored gloves they wanted, whether it was no gloves, one of each color, only one glove, or a matching set. I explain that they are the antibodies and have the role of finding the bad guys. Then, I explain the balloons are antigens. At this point, I don’t tell them about specificity and just let them grab as many balloons as possible. Once they have the balloons, I explain the concept of specificity and tell them to switch balloons with their classmates until they have one balloon per matching glove. When I throw out the balloons, I often throw out extra colors or a lesser amount of one color. When the kids find out they don’t have a matching balloon or there are too many of one color, this is an excellent time to discuss what happens when there are too many antigens and the pathogen makes us sick. On the contrary, this is also a great time to talk about what happens if the antibodies win and there aren’t enough antigens to go around, meaning we effectively defeat the disease. I also generally throw out a colored balloon that no one has a matching glove for to teach them about creating new antibodies to adapt to new antigens. Once all of this is over, we teach them about what happens to the antigen after the antibody finds it. Someone can collect all of the balloons and talk about how B or T cells can take it away, or you can let the kids pop the balloons to show phagocytosis (if you have no further use for the balloons).
This activity can be done with a variety of different objects; I’ve actually considered doing the activity with easter eggs hidden around the room or turning it into a game of capture the flag. Depending on the age group, you can vary the amount of detail you go into as well. When I did this activity with kindergarteners, I just taught them about antigens being the bad guy and antibodies being the good guy. With middle schoolers, going further in depth and explaining specificity in its whole would be beneficial. With high schoolers, this can seem immature, so you’d have to personalize the activity with something they care about, but they would definitely be able to grasp the concept of specificity. You could use this as an introduction to B and T cells as well. This activity would be great when adapted to an outdoor science obstacle course or something similar. The activity itself is very versatile and can be adapted for any group.
Example supply list:
Balloons in blue, orange, white, and green
Gloves in blue, orange, and white
Trash Bag for collecting balloons
Time for Middle Schoolers:
1m Pass out gloves and give directions/introduction
1m Toss and collect balloons
1m Explain Specificity
1m Exchange
1m Explain what happens when it’s caught
2m Collect or kill
1m Questions and what happens with a third color?
Gold S.T.A.R.S. 