👉 Watch the video of Sarah’s school science experiment here!
Hello parents, teachers and students! We’re starting a new and exciting partnership with the San Antonio Zoo ahead of the 2023-2024 school year. To kick things off, Sarah has a science experiment explaining how blubber helps keep some animals warm.
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
- Shortening (like Crisco)
- A ziplock bag
- A glove
- A bucket or cooler of ice water
DO THE EXPERIMENT
- Before conducting the experiment, stick your hand in the ice water -- see how long you can last before you have to pull your hand out...it’s super cold!
- Put a glove on your hand
- Place a large glob of shortening in the ziplock baggie, and then stick your gloved hand in the bag with the shortening
- Mold the shortening around your hand to form a protective layer of blubber
- Stick your “blubbered” hand in the ice water and notice how it doesn’t feel as cold as it did without the “blubber”
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, email sciencewithsarah@ksat.com.
Parents and guardians: upload a video of your child performing the activity by clicking here. Send it in and you might see it on GMSA @ 9 a.m.!
