Hibernation Science Experiment

As the students began to learn about Hibernation, we engaged in a science experiment. We had two glass jars. Each jar contained water and a piece of butter. In one jar, the butter was a bear hibernating, and in the other jar, the butter was a bear who decided to not sleep during winter.

We talked about why it is so important for bears to eat a lot of food before they hibernate. The butter showed the fat bears would store during the winter. What would happen if a bear decided to stay awake all winter? Well, each of the students got a turn to shake the jar. This meant the bear was playing, or looking for food, instead of hibernating.

As we shook the jar, and watched the butter break apart, we learned that, just like the butter, the bear would lose his fat and energy, and he would not survive the winter. If we looked at the other jar, which had the sleeping bear, we could see that he kept his fat and he stayed very healthy all winter long!