Polar Bear Science

Hands-on Science

Mrs. Waller and I recently began teaching Hands-On Science on Fridays for both classes. Last Friday, students were able to investigate how blubber assists the Polar Bear. Through a literature selection, classroom discussion, and an experiment, students learned that blubber helps keep the bear afloat and keeps the animal warm in arctic temperatures.

Mrs. Waller and I prepared by placing creamy Crisco in a Ziploc bag and secured it so that students wouldn’t touch it during the experiment. The secured Ziploc bag was placed into another bag. The second bag was left open. Students were then asked to place their hand inside the open bag and place their hand in water and ice. With their hand in the bag, students could leave their hand in the ice water for an extended period of time. Then they were asked to remove their hand from the bag and place it, unprotected, in the ice water. Unprotected, students were not able to leave their hand in the bowl for longer than a few seconds.

When asked to explain the difference, students were able to clearly state that the Crisco cream acted for their hand just as the blubber acts for the polar bears. It keeps in the heat in and keeps the cold out. These student scientists are quite remarkable!