Halloween will be different this year, but for good reason.
To help limit the spread of COVID-19 and keep our communities safe, the Oregon Health Authority – in alignment with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – issued guidance earlier this month recommending that Oregonians avoid door-to-door trick-or-treating, trunk-or-treat events and large gatherings.
While it may feel like the pandemic is putting a damper on the holiday, the good news is that Halloween can still be a scream.
“Try not to think of these changes as spoiling your traditional plans,” says Kristan Summers, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program mentor at OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. “Instead, think of it as an opportunity for your family to express its creativity and maybe even make a few new Halloween traditions at the same time.”
For nearly two years, Summers has been working one-on-one with young OHSU Doernbecher patients to enhance their interests in STEM. By exploring virtual reality, 3D printing, circuit boards, computer coding, science experiments and more, OHSU Doernbecher’s STEM program not only expands access to exciting projects but also helps children and their families cope with the stresses of being in the hospital.
To assist in ramping up your Halloween 2020, Summers recommends using regular household items – and adult supervision - to create a monstrously fun and easy home-based laboratory, full of ooey-gooey experiments from Little Bins for Little Hands:
What you’ll need:
What to do:
Summers says: Try adding sequins, glitter, plastic spiders or other Halloween surprises to your slime mix to make it extra creepy and fun.
What you’ll need:
What to do:
Summers says: Shine a flashlight (or your smartphone app) on your mixture to make it gleam!
What you’ll need:
What to do:
Summers says: Make a game out of it. See who can blow the most, or biggest, bubbles in a certain amount of time.
Need some pumpkin carving inspiration?
Consider a frightfully adorable custom HOWL-oween template featuring OHSU Doernbecher’s beloved Hospital Facility Dogs, Hope and Davis.Download the templates here, and make sure to share your creation on social media using the #DBHope and #DBDavis hashtag(s).