…for science, that is. I somehow picked the coldest day of the year (so far) to do our whale blubber science experiment. The freezing weather fit right in with the theme of our day. The idea of the experiment was to re-create the Arctic-cold temperatures of water that whales regularly swim in. We then submerged our hands into the coldness with just a rubber glove (like a layer of skin) followed by a glove slathered in Vaseline and covered with an additional glove (like a whale’s blubber that is just under the outer layer of their skin). The results were hilarious. Petroleum jelly and children do not mix, by the way. And I had just run out of paper towels the morning of the experiment. Oh well. We timed how long we could keep our hands in the ice water with just one glove. I think Jaelah made it to 23 seconds, which was by far the longest. But then when we tried with the layer of “blubber” it didn’t seem as though we’d ever have to take our hands out of the frigid water. What a wonderful way to demonstrate to the kids God’s amazing care for His special marine creatures so that they can survive in such inhospitably-cold regions.
I’ll be scrubbing my sinks for a week, but it was worth it!
Hebron Heights Academy 