The Sun and Our Skin

Our last Science lab had to do with what the sun does to our skin.  Each child was given ten white beads to string on a pipe cleaner and turn into a bracelet.   

The students were told that the sun's UV rays would penetrate the beads.  Depending on how much of the sun's rays were absorbed, the beads would turn colors - the more rays, the darker the color.  The children were so amazed as the beads turned bright colors in the bright Florida sun.

Next we put some beads in clear bags and covered the outside of each bag with a different SPF sunscreen - from a 4 to a 60

The students made predictions and discovered that the sunscreen did block the sun's rays.  The higher the sunscreen the lighter the beads.  Next we went inside and wrote about our experience in our Science journals.  Children took the beads home to explain to their parents what they had learned.