Quarry Hill Nature Center - Surviving Winter

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Surviving Winter

Class Title: Surviving Winter
Audience: 7th grade
Offered: January & February
Length: 2 days in your school classroom

Preparing for this Class:

Students need to be prepared to be outside for one class period. Please stress the need for proper winter attire, including boots for hiking to collect outdoor temperature data.
A Quarry Hill staff member will come to your classroom the afternoon before the class begins to set up the indoor stations associated with this class. (Countertop/table space is needed for 8 stations as well as floor space for 6 buckets of ice water.)

I. Class Description

This class is held in your classroom and adjacent outside school property over a 2 day period. Each day, half of each class section will be outside for most of the period collecting temperature and other data. During this outside portion, students will learn how various animals survive winter and will also collect data and use it to determine the present wind chill. During the time students are indoors, they will learn about core and extremity body temperatures and experience in part what hypothermia feels like when they immerse one arm into a bucket of icy water for 1-2 minutes. During the first day, students will also take part in an experiment to test whether cotton or wool socks are better insulators. During wrap up on the second day, results from this sock experiment will be discussed.

II. Correlation to MN Science Standards

(Plan and) conduct a controlled experiment to test a hypothesis about a relationship between two variables, ensuring that one variable is systematically manipulated, the other is measured and recorded, and any other variables are kept the same (controlled). (7.1.1.2.2)
Generate a scientific conclusion from an investigation, clearly distinguishing between results (evidence) and conclusions (explanation). (7.1.1.2.3)
Evaluate explanations proposed by others by examining and comparing evidence, identifying faulty reasoning, and suggesting alternative explanations. (7.1.1.2.4)

III. Science Vocabulary (*denotes a Quarry Hill vocabulary word)

Hypothermia
Anemometer

Extremities
Amnesia

Core
Wind Chill

After completion of one of these programs please fill out and submit our evaluation form. You may fill it out and submit it online, or print it out and mail it to Quarry Hill Nature Center. Thank you for your time!