Fourth and fifth graders at Wheaton Woods Elementary School learned Tuesday that their bodies are filled with 100 trillion bacteria and that that is a good thing.
A bright yellow traveling shipping container known as Curiosity Cube visited their school, thanks to MilliporeSigma, the U.S. and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. Staff from the science and technology company in Rockville led the hands-on experiments and tried to convince students of the need to eat healthy wash their hands frequently. 
Also, noted Principal Daman Harris, students got to see scientists from various races and ethnicities. Almost 95% of the students are children of color at this school in Rockville. “It’s great for them to see these leaders,” he said, adding, “If nothing else, they learned they could be scientists.”
Inside the cube were microscopes and little bot robots that followed a student’s diagrams, passing happily through colors where the students brushed their teeth, washed their hands and ate vegetables and fruit. When the bot came to a spot where students said they didn’t go outside to play for 10 minutes or more several times a day or washed their hands infrequently, the little round bot turned around and refused to continue going forward.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the Curiosity Cube will stop at Parkland Middle School.
