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Hands on activities

Our selection of interactive activities about the immunology of vaccination and herd immunity can be found below. Click on each activity to download the resources for free - there are detailed instructions and kit lists to help you out! Enjoy having some hands-on fun whilst learning about the importance of vaccines. 


Pathogens & antibodies 

Games for younger children to demonstrate how antibodies fight against pathogens and explain what these pathogens are. 

  • Plasticine modeling of pathogens & antibodies - use a range of craft items to explore the anatomy of bacteria, viruses and antibodies, and how they interact.
  • Pathogen buster! - a slimy game to understand how antibodies fight germs inside the body and introduce the concept of antibody specificity and how vaccines work.
  • Antibody challenge - challenge yourself to use your antibody magnet to find its specific germ!

Immunological memory games

Games to show that for every new pathogen the immune system meets, a specific antibody is made to match the pathogen in order to kill it. Vaccines enable us to gain a memory of the antibody needed to protect us from a particular pathogen.

  • A simple card matching game with pairs of antibodies and pathogens. Single player for a younger audience.
  • memory game with vaccine-related objects. Suitable for mixed ages as difficulty level can be modified and for individual or group play.

Herd immunity games

Discover what herd immunity is and how maintaining a high vaccination rate in the community is important to stop the spread of disease. Additionally, our short animation explains all.

  • Herd immunity Jenga - try your hand at Jenga with a twist! If you don’t have two sets of Jenga, as long as you can make some blocks different from the others, this game will work. For example, cover blocks in foil or place stickers on them.
  • Herd immunity bowling - tenpin bowling with a difference!
  • Herd immunity lucky dip - have a go as a virus infecting populations with different vaccination rates.

Celebrate Vaccines microscopic word search

A Celebrate Vaccines word search for all ages to introduce key terms. Download the microscopic word search for printing and the facilitator instructions here.


Juno Island board game 

We've created a new board game, suitable for 1-3 players ages 7+ to demonstrate the importance of vaccination and identify the different methods of protection from an infectious disease.

All resources are printable or you can have a go at designing your own and following the step-by-step instructions.


Vaccines through our lifetime

A game for younger children using giant microbes to explain why vaccination is important in stopping the spread of diseases at each stage of your life. 


Activities have been developed by the British Society for Immunology and science communication professionals Lisa Whittaker and Carina Laroza.