Richard Hill

Church of England Primary School


Get in touch

Contact Details

Daily Challenge

Today I would like you to find out if all of the seas and the oceans are the same. Look at the map below. Do you think there is anywhere that might be colder than other places? Why do you think it is white at the top and the bottom? How do the animals that live in the cold water not get freezing cold?

Your challenge is to learn about how animals in the north and south poles can cope with the cold water. In school we are doing this by a science experiment which is really simple so hopefully you can take part at home! :)

You will need:
2 plastic bags
1 block of lard
Some icy water in the bath, tupperware or a washing up bowl deep enough to submerge your whole hand in.

What you need to do:
Smear the block of lard inside one of the plastic bags, then place the second plastic bag inside the other so that the lard is sandwiched in the middle of them.

Explain to your child that the plastic bags are actually a polar bear's/penguins/seals body and the lard inside is all of the blubber. You are going to see what the cold water feels like to those animals.
First, ask your child to put their hand into the icy water. Let them feel how freezing cold it is! Then, ask them to put their other hand inside the plastic bag, the lard should be high enough so that there is a layer of it all around their hand. Tell them to submerge their polar bear's paw (or whichever Arctic animal they wish to pretend it is) and encourage them to comment on how different it feels.

If their hand has been fully wrapped with the lard-filled plastic bag then they shouldn't be able to feel how cold the water is!

Have a great day experimenting and exploring!
Miss Heafford