Hibernation isn't just about staying fed, it's about staying warm. Young environmentalists explore the importance of staying warm in the wilderness with a short lesson about surviving in the wild. Using gelatin to represent warm-blooded animals, classmates find an outdoor place for their "animal" to hibernate, and check back after a hike to see if their gelatin has hardened, indicating that the area was not warm enough for survival.

Concepts

hiking, survival, hibernation, hypothermia, the wilderness

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Additional Tags

physical education

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Instructional Ideas

• Use the lesson in the winter as part of an earth science or biology lesson, or during warmer months to demonstrate the changes of the seasons
• Encourage your class to bring in examples of their warmest clothes, and have their peers decide whether the outfits would truly help them survive in the wilderness
• Incorporate into a camp program or curriculum
• Have groups compile survival kits to bring home in anticipation of upcoming camping trips

Classroom Considerations

•  Younger learners might be upset at the idea that their animal did not survive
• Most of the activity needs to be done outside
• One box of gelatin should last for 20 participants, but you may need more if your group is larger

Pros

• Provides helpful survival tips and a list of items to put into a survival kit
• Wide range of accessible grades allows for versatility in classroom implementation

Cons

• None