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Germ Busters
A game of life or death.
Two deadly foes – only one will
survive
Bacteria need a suitable environment
to grow and reproduce.
The body provides such an
environment.
In order to survive the body must
protect itself from harmful bacteria
Team 1 – The Body
Defences
– Skin
– Nose Toxins
– Antibodies
Team 2 – Bacteria
Reproduce quickly
Aim to overtake the body and kill the
host.
The personalities
‘Bacteria Queen’
‘The Brain behind
the Body’
Two paths – one goal
To reproduce
bacteria need a
suitable
environment such
as the body. The
first obstacle to
overcome is the
body’s outer
defence layer –
either the skin or
the nose.
Antibodies
Skin
Nose
Phase 1 – The skin
Bacteria need to
shoot goals through
netball hoops – this
represents bacteria
getting through
pores and cuts in the
skin.
Once a bacterium
has shot a goal,
he/she can move on
to the next phase.
Phase 1 – The nose
The warm moist conditions of the
nose may seem like an ideal place
for the growth of bacteria. However,
the liquids produced by the cells
lining the nose contain substances
which kill most bacteria.
Phase 1 – The nose (cont.)
Bacteria must run through the nasal
passage gauntlet without being hit
by a ball (toxin). Nose cells must try
and hit bacteria below the waist.
Phase 2 – The immune system
If bacteria penetrate the skin they
find the moist, warm conditions ideal
for growth. When this happens our
immune system comes into action.
Goal of the bacteria
Bacteria need to walk
across the tennis
courts without being
stopped by an
antibody. Their goal
is to reach the fence.
If 10 bacteria can
reach the fence, this
will represent
successful invasion of
the body and the
bacteria will win
the game!
Goal of the antibodies
Antibodies are special types of
proteins designed to attack the
surface of a particular pathogen.
They can attach to the cell wall of a
bacterium and disable it.
Antibodies can run, but they can
only disable a bacterium if they can
match its protein coat code.
Cracking the protein code
Before the game, the bacteria will decide
on a number between 1 and 10. All of the
bacteria have the same number.
When an antibody tags a bacterium,
he/she needs to guess a number between
1 and 10. If the antibody guesses the
correct number, the bacterium is disabled
and must sit down. If the antibody
guesses an incorrect number it cannot
approach that same bacterium again.
Antibody
queue
Fence (the goal)
No
bacterium
Start line
6?
Strategy considerations - Bacteria
You may benefit by focusing your
attacks on one part of the body to
try and overwhelm its defences.
Strategy considerations - Body
How many people should be
allocated to defend the nasal
passage? (you will only have 5 nerf
balls)
How many people should be
allocated to be antibodies?