Habitats and Adaptations

Today in Biology STEAM class we talked about Habitats. Habitats are where something lives. We talked about 5 different kinds of habitats: forest, ocean, pond, farm, and arctic. Hidden in envelopes around the room were animals that lived in each of these habitats. The kids had to find the envelopes and classify the animals into the appropriate habitat.

Next, we used a globe to show the kids where we live. We talked about our habitat. We asked them how they dress in the summer and how they dress in the winter. We asked them to think about what animals do to keep cool or warm in their habitat since they can't put on coats and don't wear shorts. We introduced the word adaptation and then gave clues about the animal we were going to study for the day. Penguins!

We watched a video about penguins that explained how they have adapted to live in a really cold climate. The video highlighted that their feather are waterproof, they have a layer of blubber, and they have tightly packed feathers to help them survive the cold. We then completed an activity to reinforce each of these concepts.

First, we gave the kids bags of oil and water to play with and explained that they don't mix. Then the kids used crayons to color a penguin. We explained that the crayons have an oil in them like penguin feathers that repel water. After they colored their picture they sprayed water on it and watched the water bead up and roll off the paper rather than soak in and get soggy.

Next, we had a bucket of ice water. The kids tried to hold their hand in the bucket, but they would get too cold. Then we had them put on a blubber glove (shortening in a plastic bag). With the blubber glove on their hand the kids could leave their hand in the ice water "forever."

Finally, we learned that on every square centimeter of a penguin's body they have 9 feathers. We measured out this small space in play dough and had the kids count out 9 feathers and try to fit them in the play dough. It was a lot to cram into a small area.

For a movement activity, we talked about how penguin move around by hopping, waddling, swimming, and sliding. We had waddling and hopping races around the room with balloons held between our legs.

Our wrap up activity was creating penguin poppers. We shot pom poms into the air and at targets. Next week will be out last lesson in Biology. We will start the new session Chemistry after the holiday break.