How do arctic animals stay warm? Lesson Video:
Overview:
Students will learn how polar animals stay warm while swimming through ice-cold water. Students will experiment with sticking their hands in cold water and compare that to sticking their hands in a bag insulated by fat (shortening). The shortening will be used as an analogy to polar animal blubber.
Lesson Materials:
*You can use the document in the link below to either: tailor the experiment to your needs or to have a printable version of this lesson plan*
How do arctic animals stay warm? Lesson Plan
The plan is editable and printable. Copy the Google Doc in your own drive and make edits or you can just print.
Learning Objectives:
- Compare and contrast crisco-covered hand vs. bare hand in icy water.
- Predict which trial will be colder.
- Test the experiment and observe the results.
- Identify the importance of fat in polar animals.
- Identify how humans mimic blubber by wearing insulated jackets in the winter.
Alignment with NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards)
K-LS1-1. Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive.
Logistics:
STEAM Subjects:
Science (Chemistry) and Art
Science Vocabulary:
- Blubber
- Water
- Ice
- Cold
Time:
5 min to trial
Materials Needed:
- 1 latex glove
- 1 can of Crisco
- 1 bowl filled with icy water
Optional Materials:
- Plastic wrap
- Plastic Bag
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