On Tuesday, January 14, 2014, the Kindergarten
classes did a project on penguins. Mrs.
Schoenhofer’s class did two different experiments on penguins. The first
experiment was on the penguin’s feathers. Penguins have special oil on their
feathers that helps keep them dry. The second experiment was on how the
penguins stay warm in cold water. Penguins have a thick layer of blubber
underneath their feathers that helps to keep them warm in frigid waters.
We
asked Mrs.Shoenhofer a few questions about the experiments. Before they did the experiments, they
predicted what would happen. First they dipped a regular feather in cold water.
The feather was wet. Then they dipped a feather in oil and it was wet, but only
because of the oil. On a penguin the oil will soak into the feathers of the penguin
so they won’t be wet. She said she thinks
that doing these experiments was a good way to represent a penguin’s blubber
vs. cold Antarctic water. She believes
that Kindergarteners and young children learn best by exploring with hands on
experiences. She also thinks it was an
easy way to get the children more involved with learning.
By Madison Benjamin and Cheyenne Trickel
