How do whales, polar bears or even penguins stay warm? The ocean can be a chilly place, but there are many mammals who call it home! How do some of our favorite mammals live in such cold conditions? It is to do with something called blubber.

While you and I don’t need much of it to survive, creatures like polar bears, whales, seals, and penguins definitely do! Make blubber and test out how it works as an insulator right in the comfort of your kitchen with this blubber experiment for easy ocean science!

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Make Blubber For Ocean Science

Get ready to explore whale blubber for your next ocean science lesson this season. If you want to learn how sea animals survive in frigid temperatures, let’s dig in! While you’re at it, make sure to check out these more fun ocean activities.

Our science activities and experiments are designed with you, the parent or teacher, in mind! Easy to set up, quick to do, most activities will take only 15 to 30 minutes to complete and are heaps of fun! Plus, our supplies lists usually contain only free or cheap materials you can source from home!

This blubber experiment asks a couple of questions.

  • What is blubber?
  • How does blubber keep animals such as whales warm?
  • Do all whales have the same amount of blubber?
  • What else makes a good insulator?

What Is Blubber?

Whales and Arctic mammals like polar bears, have a thick layer of fat under their skin called blubber. This fat can be anywhere from a couple of inches to a foot thick!

Learn more about the ocean and the Arctic with Biomes of the World.

The blubber keeps them warm and also stores nutrients their body can use when there isn’t much food. Different species of whales have varying amounts of fat, which is why some whales migrate, and some do not.

The Humpback whale migrates out of cold waters but lives mostly off of its blubber until it returns! The Narwhal, Beluga, and Bowhead whales generally stick around the colder temperature waters all year!

What is blubber? Fat!

The fat molecules in the shortening in this experiment act like an insulator, just like the blubber. Insulation slows the transfer of heat, keeping the whale warm in very low temperatures. Other animals that use this feature are the polar bear, penguin, and seal!

Could you test other materials you have on hand to see if they make good insulators too?

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Turn It Into A Blubber Science Project

Science projects are an excellent tool for older kiddos to show what they know about science! Plus, they can be used in all sorts of environments including classrooms, homeschool, and groups.

Kids can take everything they have learned about using the scientific method, stating a hypothesis, choosing variables, and analyzing and presenting data.

Want to turn one of these experiments into an awesome science fair project? Check out these helpful resources.

Blubber Experiment

Let’s explore blubber!

Supplies:

  • Ice
  • Large bowl
  • Cold water
  • Thermometer (optional)
  • 4 zip top sandwich bags
  • Vegetable shortening
  • Spatula
  • Towel
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Instructions:

STEP 1: Fill a large bowl with ice and cold water.

STEP 2: Turn a zip top bag inside out, place the bag on your hand, and use a spatula to cover both sides of the bag in vegetable shortening.

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STEP 3: Place the shortening coated bag inside another bag and seal.

STEP 4: Turn a clean bag inside out, place it inside another clean bag and seal.

STEP 5: Place one hand in each bag and place your hands in the ice water.

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STEP 6: Which hand gets cold faster? Observe how your hands feel and then use a thermometer to check the actual temp inside each bag.

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How To Apply The Scientific Method

To make this into a true science experiment, let’s test some variables! Learn more about variables in science.

First, you want to make sure to test the temperature with a plain bag on your hand. That will be your control!

What are other kinds of insulators could you test? Choose a few other materials to observe and record the temperature within the bags.

What factors will you keep the same? Make sure to test the temperature within each bag at the same length of time after being covered in ice. What about the amount of ice? Make sure to have the same amount of ice in each bowl.

These are great questions to ask your kids. Get them to think about what variables need to stay the same and more importantly, how you will do that.

Further Extension: Present the kids with a challenge, keep the ice cube from melting!

How can you insulate an ice cube to keep it from melting? Or what makes ice melt faster?

Learn More About Ocean Animals

Printable Ocean Activities Pack

If you want to have all of your printable ocean activities in one convenient place, plus exclusive worksheets with an ocean theme, our 100+ page Ocean STEM Project Pack is what you need!

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