The Dark Side Of Science: Plagues, Poison & Venom Self Paced (Grades 5-12)

The Dark Side Of Science

Instructor: Collins

Self Paced 6 Week Course

Grade Level: 5-12

Science has a dark past, that can be terrifying. Join us as we discover some of the dark history of science as we study plagues, poisons, dissection history, and more. 

Week 1-2: Plagues

Plagues upon the Earth is a monumental history of humans and their germs. Disease is entangled into our history, and the way the medical community handled it could be strange at times with plague masks and cutting off small pox wounds for immunity. You will learn about the history of plagues, the ten plagues, and how plagues have been handled by doctors in unique ways.

Craft: make a paper plague mask and plague disk

Lab: make your own theriac using herbs around your home, fruit and other household items

Week 3-4: Poisons

Through the years, people have discovered various herbs and made chemicals to create a deadly poison. Come learn about the history of poisons. 

Craft: create a story about a fictional poison, make a paper cauldron, draw a poisonous dart frog

Week 5-6: Venom

Every wondered how snake bites were treated in the past? Or how snake venom is collected? Come learn more about the venom from various animals. 

Craft: research a specific poisonous snake, make a paper snake

At the end of the class, students will create one of the following:

-shoebox diorama showing a past scene in time

-write a fictional story about the history of science

-create a video for the class to summarize a true story from the time of dark science