This ‘hands on’ science experiment will help you understand the very special insulation polar bears and penguins use to keep warm during winter. After all, they never bundle up in marshmallow jackets, knit hats, gloves and water proof boots!

Now, prepare to get a little messy and test your tolerance for less-than-tepid temperatures!
Materials for the experiment:

• Butter or margarine
• Bucket of ice water
• Stopwatch
• A friend

Experiment:

1. Set the bucket of ice water in front of you and dip your hand into the ice water. Have your friend time how long you can keep your hand in the water. It shouldn’t be very long, considering ice water is not fun to expose yourself to.
2. Ask your friend to write down the length of time you were able to hold your hand in the ice water. Give your hands some time to warm up.
3. Now for the really fun part! Take a stick of butter, or margarine, and cover your hand completely in a thick layer of butter. Make sure you really cake it on.
4. Dip your buttered hand into the ice water bucket and, again, have your friend time it with a stopwatch. When you take out your hand notice how the water beads off your buttered-up hand. The coldness of the water doesn’t affect you as quickly the second time, does it?

The science behind the experiment:

Butter is a fat, and winter animals have a very thick layer of fat under their fur that comfortably wraps up their insides like a blanket. Polar bears for example, have a layer of fat, or blubber, up to 11 centimeters in thickness! This blubber helps animals insulate their bodies, especially in the freezing water while swimming. Also, fat works as a natural water-repellent, as you saw when the water beaded up and slipped off your skin.

Hope you enjoyed that experiment!

You can learn about other ways different animals stay warm in the cold by clicking here!