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Ellis Abel Learns.

In my own words · Itasca County, MN

Why I love germs

Astronaut Ricky Arnold processes swab samples of microbes collected from space station surfaces at a work station. Real NASA photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love Germs" page — read by families in Itasca County, MN.
Astronaut Ricky Arnold processes swab samples of microbes collected from space station surfaces at a work station. NASA · Public domain
  • They are alive and they are everywhere.
  • Most of them are not out to get me.
  • Washing hands actually works, and there is a reason.

You can love germs in Itasca County.

What it really is

Germs are living things too small to see, and most are harmless or helpful.

Three things to try today

  1. Wash one hand properly and leave the other.
  2. Find out how long twenty seconds feels.
  3. Find out why soap works.
Astronaut Ricky Arnold processes swab samples of microbes collected from space station surfaces at a work station. Real NASA photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love Germs" page — read by families in Itasca County, MN.
Astronaut Ricky Arnold processes swab samples of microbes collected from space station surfaces at a work station. NASA · Public domain

For the grown-up reading this

Itasca County is one of 87 counties in Minnesota. Interest comes first and skill comes second, in that order, always. This page is for the first part.

Soap breaks the fat layer around many microbes. It is chemistry, not magic.

If the kid who loves this is a girl

Read what one popular teacher said to one little girl who took out the classroom trash without being asked — and what that girl did with the rest of her life.

Girls are great at math — Itasca County, MN →

Love something else too

A research laboratory seen from outside through a glass window, with a scientist inside preparing samples for analysis. Real USGS photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love Science" page — read by families in Itasca County, MN.Why I love scienceA wide-angle view of the flight control room of NASA's Mission Control Center, filled with rows of consoles and display screens. Real NASA photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love Technology" page — read by families in Itasca County, MN.Why I love technologyLong rows of black cabinets housing the Discover supercomputer at the NASA Center for Climate Simulation. Real NASA photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love Computers" page — read by families in Itasca County, MN.Why I love computersTwo small AstroPi Raspberry Pi computers with camera modules floating in the Columbus laboratory of the space station. Real NASA photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love Coding" page — read by families in Itasca County, MN.Why I love codingA close-up of one row of the Discover supercomputer, showing about 2,000 processors stacked in cabinets with cabling. Real NASA photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love Data" page — read by families in Itasca County, MN.Why I love dataThe Robonaut 2 humanoid robot, with a gold-visored head and two jointed arms, mounted inside the Destiny laboratory of the space station. Real NASA photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love Robotics" page — read by families in Itasca County, MN.Why I love robotsThe tracked crawler-transporter carries a mobile launcher platform and twin solid rocket boosters along the crawlerway toward Launch Pad 39A. Real NASA photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love Engineering" page — read by families in Itasca County, MN.Why I love engineeringThe International Space Station with its newly attached Destiny laboratory, photographed from space shuttle Atlantis above a cloud-covered Earth. Real NASA photograph used on the Ellis Abel Learns "Why I Love Space" page — read by families in Itasca County, MN.Why I love space

Near Itasca County

Why I love germs, everywhere in the US · All things to love · STEM jobs you could do · Summer camps in Itasca County