Shrinking Straw

Purpose: This activity will simulate the body’s reaction to tobacco use. Tobacco effects many parts of the body. Two of these are the lungs and blood vessels. Tar builds up in the lungs, causing damage to alveoli which decreases an individual’s capacity to breath. As more alveoli become damaged, the lungs have less useable space to breath; resulting in shortness of breath. Nicotine constricts arteries or blood vessels. As the blood vessels constrict, the hear pumps harder and faster to maintain the same amount of blood flow to various body parts. This increased work load is a contributing factor to heart failure.

Materials:

· Kool Aid, punch or some other beverage

· 1 regular drinking straw for each participant

· 1 cocktail drinking straw (the real thin ones) for each participant

· 1 small paper cup for each participant with a few extras

· A watch with a second hand

Activity: Divide you group into teams of about 5. Place one cup per participant on a table and fill them with Kool Aid. If the cups are too large for them to drink three of them, fill the cups only half full. Each participant should be given a regular drinking straw. Have the team gather around their cups and explain this is a relay. One person on the team will put their straw in their cup of Kool Aid and drink until it is gone. They do not have to drink it all without taking a breath. After the 1^st member of the team is done, then the 2^nd member starts drinking and so on. Repeat this process until all the team members have had a turn. Keep track of how long it takes for the entire team to be finished. Record each team’s result. Now fill the cups up again and repeat the process to see if they can beat their first round.

For the third round, fill the cups up again but exchange everyone’s straw for one of the thin cocktail drinking straws. Have everyone on each team take turns emptying their cups and compare the time results with the first two rounds.

Processing:

1. How did you do in the first round?

2. Did your team get better in the second round? Why?

3. How did you do in the third round with the smaller straw? How did the results of the third round compare with the results of the first two rounds?

4. What was the difference between the first two rounds and the third round?

5. How can we compare this activity to the effects of tobacco on the body?

6. What happened when the straw became narrower? How does this compare with the blood vessels of a smoker?

Reference: More Activities that Teach, Tom Jackson