🧪 Science with Sarah: Blubber-y barrier

👉 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.