Welcome to our Antarctica Blubber Experiment. Would would have thought blubber could be so cool? I’ll be all those seals and penguins are really happy right about now!
This was a super easy experiment, and the kids loved it. First we learned about Penguins of Antarctica. We also learned about Emperor Penguins from National Geographic.
Penguins have a layer of fat under their skin that helps them cope with the cold in Antarctica. To demonstrate this, prepare a large bowl of ice water.
Directions:
Step 1: Place about 1 cup solid vegetable shortening in a Ziploc baggie.
Step 2: Put one of your student’s hands in another baggie to keep clean from shortening, then place your student’s “bagged” hand into the bag with the shortening in it and “mold” it around the hand.
Step 3: Place both hands (one un-bagged, and one bagged) into the bowl, see if you can feel the difference it makes to have a layer of fat keeping you warm!
Click here to see the rest of our Antarctica Activities!
Click here to learn more about my Expedition Earth World Geography curriculum!
