Wearing face masks has become a usual practice in acute infection events inducing the problem of misinterpreting the emotions of others. Empirical evidence about face masks mainly relies on adult data, neglecting, for example, school kids who firmly are dependent on effective nonverbal communication. Here we offer insights from a joint school–university project. Data indicate that emotional reading of 9 to 10 years old pupils (N = 57) was similarly impaired as adults on an overall performance level, but that their selective performance on specific emotions was quite different. Kids showed extreme problems in reading the emotion disgust, strong effects on fear and sadness, and only mild effects on happiness, but also even better performances for emotional states anger and neutral when faces were masked. This project did gain not only relevant data about children’s perception but also made clear how fruitful seriously conducted school projects can be to encourage the interest and commitment for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)-relevant topics.

戴口罩已成为急性感染事件中的常见做法，从而引发了误解他人情绪的问题。关于口罩的经验证据主要依赖于成人数据，忽略了例如牢固依赖有效非语言交流的学童。在这里，我们提供来自学校与大学联合项目的见解。数据表明，9至10岁小学生（ N = 57）的情绪阅读在整体表现水平上与成年人相似，但他们对特定情绪的选择性表现却截然不同。孩子们在解读厌恶情绪方面表现出极大的问题，对恐惧和悲伤有强烈的影响，对幸福的影响只有轻微，但当面孔被蒙住时，孩子们在愤怒和中立的情绪状态方面表现得更好。该项目不仅获得了有关儿童认知的相关数据，还明确了认真开展的学校项目在鼓励对科学、技术、工程和数学 (STEM) 相关主题的兴趣和承诺方面可以取得多么丰硕的成果。