👉 Watch the video of Sarah’s science experiment at Fair Oaks Elementary School here!
Hello parents, teachers and students!
Be sure to check out GMSA@9 on Wednesdays when Meteorologist Sarah Spivey does the demonstrations and explains the science behind it.
HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED
- A large bowl filled with ice water
- 2 Ziploc baggies
- Crisco or other vegetable shortening
DO THE EXPERIMENT
STEP 1: Fill a large bowl with ice and water
STEP 2: Place your hand in the ice water and see how long you can keep it in there before it gets too cold
STEP 3: Fill a Ziploc bag with some Crisco
STEP 4: Place your and in another Ziploc baggie, then place your bagged hand into the other bag filled with the shortening. This creates a layer of “blubber” around your hand
STEP 5: Stick your “blubbered” hand into the ice water bath. You should be able to keep it in the ice water for a LOT longer!
HOW IT WORKS
Many marine animals such as polar bears, whales, walruses, and seals use blubber to keep them warm from icy waters. Without the blubber, they wouldn’t be able to survive.
In this experiment, we used the shortening and ziplock bag to act as a protective layer of blubber for our hand against the cold of the ice water.
SCIENCE WITH SARAH
If you’d like Sarah and David to come to your school and conduct a science experiment live on KSAT, fill out this form. “Winners” are selected at random.