Hooked on science: Blubber bag

Have you ever wondered how polar bears and other animals keep warm in the cold weather? They use blubber, a thick layer of fat that helps insulate. You can make a blubber bag by using a few items from around the house.

Materials

• Shortening
• Ice
• Water
• Large bowl
• 2 quart-sized zip-top bags

Instructions

STEP 1: Fill one of the zip-top bags with 2 cups of shortening.

STEP 2: Place the empty zip-top bag inside the zip-top bag with shortening.

STEP 3: Fill the large bowl with ice and water.

STEP 4: Place your hand inside the empty bag inside the blubber bag.

STEP 5: Place your blubber bag hand and your naked hand into the large bowl of ice water.

Explanation

The hand inside the blubber bag will stay warm due to the shortening. The shortening represents blubber, which keeps polar bears and other animals warm during the winter.

Jason Lindsey is a Science Outreach Educator with Hooked on Science. Check out his website "Hooked On Science" at hookedonscience.org for webcasts and experiments that might get you hooked on science. Send him your science questions at jlindsey@hookedonscience.org. More science experiments can be found at www.semissourian.com.