Fly in the Ointment

True or false - flies landing on your food can transmit disease? Here is a way to demonstrate this fact to your residents. Materials: Soup cube, water, corn starch, clean jar lid and clear soul bowl. A volunteer fly. Process: Dissolve the soup cube in warm water and mix with corn starch until thickened. Place the mixture in the jar lid. Sit the lid on a patio and watch for flies to appear. After flies walk on the mixture, bring the lid inside and cover the lid with a clear soup bowl. Place in an area where residents can observe what happens over the next five days.

Result: The surface of the lid materials will be covered in white dots. These dots are bacteria introduced when the fly walked on the mixture and will continue to grow. This demonstrates how flies can transmit disease to food.