First Class investigated if fat keeps us warm. We know that some animals such as seals and whales have a layer of fat known as blubber under their skin, and this allows them swim in the freezing cold waters of Antarctica. We wanted to see if the same might apply to humans? We first held one finger in ice cold water for 2 mins. We then covered another finger in lard (animal fat) and we plunged that finger in ice cold water also for 2 mins. The children reflected on how cold each finger felt when placed in the ice cold water bath. One of the main challenges with this experiment was keeping the water bath ice cold. We had to constantly replace the H2O with fresh iced water as the heat from our fingers was heating up the water.
