Polar Bear Day

Objective:
The students will conduct an experiment to determine how blubber helps keep Polar Bears warm.

Materials

• Vaseline or Shortening
• About 12 ice cubes (1 per each pair of students)
• Paper Towels or Tissues (to clean up vaseline).
• "How Do Polar Bears Keep Warm?" Worksheet

Procedure

1. Ask the students how they think Polar Bears keep warm in the Arctic climate.  You may want to share information from the following link Polar Bears Alive or read a book on how Polar Bears keep warm.  Lead the students to a discussion on blubber.
2. Put the students in pairs and pass out an ice cube, the Worksheet,  and a spoonful of  Vaseline or shortening.  Have one student cover one of the index finger fingertips of their partner with a thick layer of the Vaseline or shortening.  That student will then place both of their index fingertips against the ice cube.  Which fingertip gets colder faster?  The one with or without the covering?  The students will then switch roles for the other student to try the experiment.
3. Have the students complete the Worksheet. 
4. As an option to the above experiment, a more in depth blubber experiment can be found at the following link; Blubber Glove.  

Other Lesson Ideas

1. Do a lesson on camouflage.  How do Polar Bears blend in with their environment?
2. Make Polar Bear Fact Books (can be tied in with a Language Arts Lesson).  Have the students write their facts on cut-outs of Polar Bear Tracks.  They may each make their own book, or work to create a class book.
3. Do a lesson on the Arctic habitat.  The following links may be helpful; Arctic Circle, Animals Of The Arctic, and Arctic National Wildlife Reserve.