Mr. Salsich's Class
Third Grade Explorations in Learning
Polar Bears and Blubber Mitts
We did a science activity to learn about a special adaptation that helps polar bears survive in ice cold arctic waters – blubber!
Polar bears are amazing animals. They are perfectly adapted to live in the frozen north. Here is a diagram to show some of their adaptations:
Polar Bear Adaptations
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Instead of just reading about the adaptations that keep them warm, we did an activity to experience one of these adaptations. We filled containers with ice cubes and water. Then we dipped our hands in to see what it felt like.
It was COLD!
Then we put on “blubber mitts” – two plastic bags with Crisco spread between them. These were like a thin glove of blubber. Our blubber mitts were about 1/2 inch thick, but a polar bear’s blubber can be 4 inches thick!
Watch the video below to see what we learned from the activity:
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September 30th, 2012 at 1:12 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich,
Our blubber mitt activity was amazing and cool.
What was your favorite part of the blubber mitt activity?
My favorite part was seeing myself on the blog. I looked kind of weird and funny because the water was freezing!
Your student,
Sandy
September 30th, 2012 at 4:57 pm
Dear Sandy,
Thanks for the excellent comment! I thought the activity was very cool also. I think my favorite part was seeing all the strange expressions on the students faces when they felt the frigid water. There were some funny reactions!
What is your favorite adaptation of the polar bear? I think it’s pretty neat that they have rough paws to keep them from slipping on ice.
Your teacher,
Mr. Salsich
October 1st, 2012 at 11:18 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
My favorite adaptation that the polar bear has is probably their blubber because what I’ve learned so far is mostly about blubber, but I also find it very cool!
One other animal that blubber uses blubber is the arctic seal.
Yours truly,
Sandy
October 1st, 2012 at 11:17 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
Another adaptation that a polar bear has is its excellent smell. Another animal that has blubber is an arctic seal. I think that I looked silly in the video!
Your student,
Piper
October 1st, 2012 at 11:18 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
Another adaptation that a polar bear has is it’s small ears. These help it keep body heat inside so it can stay warm.
Some other animals that depend on blubber are whales, seals, and walruses.
Your student,
Cayla
October 1st, 2012 at 11:19 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
Another adaptation that the polar bear has is its strong leg. This helps it run away from danger at really high speeds. Some other animals with blubber are Beluga whales and arctic seals.
Sincerely,
Brendan
October 1st, 2012 at 11:20 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
One other adaptation a polar bear has is rough paws to help it not slip on the ice. One other animal that has blubber is a narwal. I liked the funny reactions.
From,
Sophia
October 1st, 2012 at 11:21 am
Dear Mr.Salsich,
Another adaptation a polar bear has is they camouflage. It helps them hunt because the animals can’t see them.
I liked Miss P’s reaction to the cold water.
From,
Sean
October 1st, 2012 at 11:22 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
Another adaptation of a Polar bear is its excellent sense of smell. That helps It smell prey up to half a mile away! Also seals, whales, and I think artic foxes depend on blubber to keep them warm.
Your student,
Bennett
October 1st, 2012 at 11:22 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
Another adaptation that a polar bear has is a polar bear has a very good sense of smell. It helps them find their prey. My favorite part of the activity was when I took my hand out of the icy cold water.
Your student,
Alicia
October 1st, 2012 at 11:23 am
Dear Mr Salsich,
Another adaptation is its ears to trap body heat to keep warm. They also have excellent smell to track down their prey. Polar bears have strong legs to fight.
Your furry friend,
Maddie!
October 1st, 2012 at 11:23 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
An adaptation that a polar bear has is small ears. That helps them to keep body heat from escaping so they stay warm. Another animal that depends on blubber is a seal. I also thought that the activity was a lot of fun.
Sincerely,
Ivy
October 1st, 2012 at 11:25 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
Another adaptation that a polar bear has is how they have two layers of fur. It helps them stay warm in the ice cold water.
From,
Ryan
October 1st, 2012 at 11:26 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
Another adaptation that polar bears have is its small ears. This helps it trap body heat in it’s body.
Other animals that have blubber are Whales, Walruses and Narwhals.
Mr. Salsich do you think that polar bears are awesome?
Your Student,
Grant
October 2nd, 2012 at 6:22 am
Dear Grant,
You have been doing a fantastic job leaving comments on the blog and asking great questions!
Yes, I do think that polar bears are awesome. They are perfectly adapted to live in a very harsh habitat. Just one amazing thing about them is that their sense of smell is so good they can smell a seal up to a mile away, even if it is in a den under 3 feet of snow!
Polar bears are the top predator of their habitat, so they are very important to keeping a balance in the arctic areas. Unfortunately, many scientists think that their population is getting smaller. This might be because the earth’s temperature may be getting hotter, making it harder for polar bears to survive.
Keep up the great blogging!
Your teacher,
Mr. Salsich
October 4th, 2012 at 6:39 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich,
Do you know that there is more and more steam and gases that are provided by many thousands of factories around world? The steam and gases heat up the environment, and that is one of the causes that are melting a lot of glaciers in the Artic Tundra.
Your Awesomely Awesome Student,
Grant
October 1st, 2012 at 11:27 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
Another adaptation that a polar bear has is it’s water proof guard fur. That helps it swim and keep warm. Other animals that have blubber are whales, seals, and walruses.
Sincerely,
Nora
October 1st, 2012 at 11:28 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
One adaptation that a poler bear has is its sharp claws it helps to not let it slip on the ice.
The video was very neat.
From,
Kali
October 1st, 2012 at 11:29 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
Another adaptation that a polar bear has is its small ear’s so their warm temperature won’t run out.
Your beautiful student,
Daniela
October 1st, 2012 at 11:30 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
Another adaptation that a polar bear has is small ears because they have to keep hot air in their body, so they do not let cold air in their body.
Your student,
Jacob
October 1st, 2012 at 11:32 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
a polar bear has many adaptations – like its small ears, its gaurd hairs, and its rough paws. Those are some of the adaptations.
Sincerely,
Trey
October 1st, 2012 at 11:32 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
Another adaptation that a polar bear has is that it has small ears so the heat stays in their body.
Your friend,
Collin
October 1st, 2012 at 11:34 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
One other adaptation I learned was that a polar bear has small ears and tail. This helps them keep themselves warmer, because it traps the heat inside their body. My favorite part was when I could take my hand out, it was freezing! I think that a snow leopard uses blubber to. I bet people that live in the Arctic wish they had blubber too.
Your student specially assigned to this class,
Wynn
October 1st, 2012 at 11:36 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
It’s ears and tail are small. It helps by not letting body heat out.
Your friend,
Cole
October 1st, 2012 at 11:39 am
Dear Mr. Salsich,
I think polar bears are cute and cuddly, what do you think? Another animal that has blubber is a narwal. Polar bears have rough paws that help them not slip on the ice.
Your student,
Natalia
October 2nd, 2012 at 6:31 am
Dear Natalia,
Thank you for the great comment and the question.
I think that polar bears are cute and can look cuddly, but I think they are also extremely dangerous. They have strong jaws, sharp teeth, and powerful legs. The babies are especially cute, but their mothers are very protective, and will attack anything that comes near the babies. So, they look kind of cute, but I don’t think they are cuddly at all.
Your teacher,
Mr. Salsich
October 1st, 2012 at 5:05 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich’s class,
That was a great video, and excellent activity to see what it was like to have blubber! Sometimes in the winter here in CT I wish I had a 4 inch thick coat like the polar bear! Don’t you?
Sincerely,
Nora’s Mom
October 1st, 2012 at 5:45 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich,
I thought the video was awesome. I would love to have 4 inches of blubber in the winter!
Sincerely,
Brendan
October 1st, 2012 at 10:01 pm
As a former Deans Mill teacher I can’t tell you how proud I am of the wonderful experiences I’ve been following on the blog. Thank you Mr. S for helping your students own their learning!
October 3rd, 2012 at 6:32 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich’s class,
That was a really fun video to watch. Everyone had such wonderful expressions while feeling the blubber. I am so happy that Sophia shares all this exciting information with me and explained to me and her Dad what a narwal was.
Thanks,
Sophia’s Mom
October 4th, 2012 at 10:01 pm
Dear Mr. Salsich,
I really enjoyed watching your science experiment. I learned a lot about polar bears and the ways they adapt to their environment. I think polar bears look really cute and it is sad that they are in danger. Other animals that have blubber are whales and seals.
Sincerely,
Sarah (Mrs. Yollis’ former student)