Save the Penguins Curriculum Overview
The "Save the Penguins" curriculum was developed as part of the Virginia Middle School Engineering Education Initiative. Three professors played major roles in the design: Christine Schnittka, an assistant professor of science education at the University of Kentucky, Randy Bell, an associate professor of science education at University of Virginia, and Larry Richards, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Virginia.
The curriculum is intended to be used in schools across the nation as a tool to improve STEM learning outcomes.
The Science Alliance has matched the curriculum to the current 6th grade standards. Our goal is to use this curriculum to offer a fun, engineering and inquiry-based learning project. The curriculum focuses on heat transfer properties as well as the environmental implications of these topics.
Lunch Box Insulation
What is the best material to help keep your drink cold in your lunch box all day? In this station, students will test the temperature difference over time of soda cans wrapped in a variety of insulating and conducting materials. Emphasis will be placed on making a hypothesis to predict the properties of each wrap.
Why is Metal Cold?
When metal, plastic, and wood are kept at room temperature for an extended period of time, why don't they feel the same temperature when touched? This station focuses on the heat transfer from the hand to metal in the form of conduction. Students will experiment with this method of heat transfer using ice cubes and comparing metal to plastic and wood.
House Warming
This station works to dispell the perception that heat rises. Instead it focuses on the process of convection which is lead by colder, more dense air sinking and forcing warmer air up. A house is heated with a light on top and students can then observe the effects of conduction by flipping the house upside down. Using a stopwatch and thermometers, students will gather data to measure the amount of convection occuring in the house over time.
Layering Mylar
An important method to limit heat transfer is reflection. Shiny mylar is an excellent tool to show this property as it has many practical uses. Students will be able to feel the effect of the mylar as it blocks the heat from a lamp. In addition they will explore everyday uses for mylar and begin to understand how and why it blocks radiation so efficiently.
Penguin Dwellings
After learning about the different types of heat transfer, this final project gives students the opportunity to apply their knowledge in a fun, comprehensive experiment! The students will be challenged to build a dwelling that will protect a penguin shaped ice cube from all three types of heat transfer (radiation, convection, conduction). A variety of materials will be made available for the students to explore and test. The amount of mass lost by each penguin will be calculated to determine which structures blocked heat transfer most effectively.