What happens when you invite kids to think like a microbiologist by “Discovering Their Own Hidden Microbes”… and then actually listen?

You get an entry point for science thinking: students observe, categorize, infer cause-and-effect, and communicate explanations - through a format that feels like play. The result is a deck of kid-designed Microbe ID Cards (with search-and-find backs) that makes the invisible world of microbes concrete, discussable, and memorable.

Yes, really.

Introducing GIANT Game Set: Search & Find Microbe Trading Cards: a deck of 17 Microbe ID Cards co-designed and co-written by elementary school students as part of the Lysol® Minilabs Science Program.

Each card features:

a student’s original microbe concept (plus an AI-generated avatar)
its “powers”
the hotspots where it might be found
and a search-and-find game on the back where the microbe (and some friends) are hidden in a detailed scene.

And suddenly, “microbes are everywhere” stops being a scary sentence… and becomes a detective mission.

Why this Remix works: kids design stories that help them make sense of the science of germs.

Microbes are invisible. That’s the problem.

But kids are unbelievably good at making invisible things… legible. They give microbes motives. They give them powers. They give them vibes.

And when kids can see a concept (even through imagination), they can start making sense of real-world habits - like washing hands, covering coughs, and thinking about what we touch every day.

This is learning that sticks because it’s anchored in kid logic:

“If the bad microbe hangs out on the trash can… then my hands should not go from trash can → snack.”
(Science. But make it personal.)

A few microbes from the deck (kid-designed, of course)

To give you a feel for the creativity inside this set, here are a few standouts from the cards:

Blobs (Bad Fungus) comes with a very practical warning: touch the trash can and don’t wash your hands… and you’ll get sick. (Clean hands = power move.)

Buddy (Good Fungus) shows up as the helpful counterpart—designed to help people not get sick.

Noah (Bad Bacteria) “sneaks into cuts” and can give you a fever. (Kids understand “entry points” intuitively.)
Melly (Bad Virus) shows classic kid storytelling—imagining viruses as “attacking” the body in a dramatic way. It’s not literal science language, but it opens a great conversation about how viruses can make us sick and how we reduce spread.
Blue Gold (Good Virus) flips the script, imagining a microbe with a “helper” role—an easy launchpad for discussing how science can use microbes in medicine.
Brick Fig Man (Good Protozoa) throws LEGOs at germs! (This is what we mean by: kid logic = genius.)

And here’s the twist: flip the card over and the microbe is hidden inside a detailed search-and-find scene—so kids practice careful observation and persistence while they hunt.

The search-and-find

This format quietly builds a whole bundle of science + health skills, including:

Classification: distinguishing good vs. bad microbes and comparing different types (bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa)
Cause & effect: “If it lives here… and I touch that… then what?”
Systems thinking: noticing how germs spread through surfaces, routines, and shared spaces
Agency: recognizing kids aren’t powerless—they have tools (handwashing, hygiene routines, smart choices)

And because it’s a game, kids stay in it long enough to actually absorb the ideas.

(Also: it’s genuinely fun. That matters.)

Try this at home (or in your classroom): 3 easy ways to play

Download and print the deck of cards (free download), make your own DIY trading cards, and play:

1) Microbe Hotspot Hunt

Pick 3 cards. Ask:

Where might you find each microbe?
Which hotspot feels “most realistic”?
What’s one habit that would stop the bad ones from spreading?

2) Search & Find Speed Round

Flip a card, set a timer for 60 seconds, and hunt for the microbe on the back scene.
Then ask:

What made it hard to find?
What clues helped?
If microbes are hard to spot… what does that mean for how we act?

3) Build-a-Microbe (kid-designed extension)

Prompt: Invent a new microbe for your school or home.
Have kids create:

Name
Type (bacteria/virus/fungus/protozoa)
Powers
Hotspots
A “defeat plan” (healthy habit that stops it)

If you want to level up: have them draw a mini search-and-find scene and hide the microbe inside.

The big idea: healthier habits don’t start with fear. They start with noticing.

A lot of “germ education” becomes a lecture fast. This deck flips the script. It says:

Be curious. Be observant. Be strategic.
Be the kind of kid who can spot a microbe hiding in plain sight - and then make a smart choice.

And because this set was co-created by elementary students through the GIANT Remix process, it carries a message kids can feel:

Your ideas belong in the world. Even your weird little microbe that throws LEGOs at germs!

Explore the Remix & Bring it to Your Classroom

You can check out the published GIANT Game Set: Search & Find Microbe Trading Cards - including the free e-cards and options to DIY or purchase printed copies—on the GIANT Room site.

And if you’re an educator looking for a playful way to make health + science standards feel alive: this is your sign to turn “germs” into a story kids can actually hold onto. Contact us to bring GIANT Remix into your classroom!

Where’s My Microbe? Students Turn Germ Science Into a Search-and-Find Adventure