Keeping Cool

Challenge
June is the official month that the long-awaited summer begins! This year it starts on June 20th to be exact. But that doesn’t mean we have to wait until then to start having summer weather and summer fun. When you think of summer, what do you think about? Vacation? Pool? Theme Parks? Food? No School? Some might think about the foods you get to experience more during summer: hamburgers, hot dogs, watermelon, corn on the cob, salads, ice cold lemonade, ice cream, popsicles, etc. Cold treats are always a favorite to help you cool down on a hot summer’s day but easily melt. Hmmm…...How could you prevent these items from melting so fast if you left them out or weren’t able to finish them all in one sitting? What’s melting the object so fast? Does it matter where you eat the object being in the sun, part sun, or shade? Answering these questions might help you with the challenge for this month. Your challenge is to create a structure that will reduce the warming effect of sunlight on an area. If successful, then your cold treat might not melt so fast!

Your structure does have some criteria and constraints. Determine specific dimensions of how large/small to build the structure. Decide the time of how long an object will be placed under the structure, if any. Use the same kind of thermometers for measuring the temperature for under the structure and next to the structure.

Materials

• various types of tape (scotch, masking, packing, duct, etc.)
• various types of material in different colors (cotton, felt, plastic, linen, etc.)
• yarn or string
• aluminum foil
• cardboard pieces
• cardboard tubes
• wooden dowels
• glue
• thermometers
• ice cubes (for testing structure effect)
• heat lamp (if conducting inside)

Hints and Tips for Success

1. Allow students planning and discussion time by having them experiment with the items to see how flexible, movable, and heavy they are. Also, let students experiment to see how warm a material gets by placing in sun or under heat lamp.
2. After experimenting, allow student groups to plan their design by drawing it out and labeling their materials being used. Include as many ways to improve their structures as needed.
3. For differentiation, adjust the amount of materials available and allowed to use, add any additional materials, take away certain materials, show them different kinds of cooling structures humans use (umbrellas, trees, hats, etc), build a non-example for students to improve upon. Adjustments could be made to make it more challenging or simpler.
4. Make sure to standardize the amount of time, when, and where students conduct their challenge, so the amount of heat displaced on the structure and item under it are the same.
5. Connect to science by discussing weather, heat, solids, liquids, melting, temperature, etc.