In chapter 2 of The Winchester Mysteries: The Missing Necklace, Lily, Carl, and Theodore help Frank load wool insulation for Mrs. Winchester’s house. Wool is a great insulator and Mrs. Winchester made a smart decision using it in her home. Other materials can be used as insulators too. In this experiment you will test out various insulating materials.
Materials:
- Different insulation materials (e.g., cotton balls, bubble wrap, tissue paper, wool, or other materials)
- Ziplock baggies (same size and quantity)
- Ice cubes
- Timer or clock
- Thermometer (optional)
Procedure:
- Preparation: Gather all the materials and set up a safe and comfortable workspace for the experiment.
- Selection of Insulation Materials: Assign each baggie a different insulation material – one baggie with cotton balls, another with bubble wrap, the third with tissue paper, and the fourth with wool – for example. These will be the test groups.
- Control Group: Keep one additional baggie as the control group, without any insulation. This will help compare the effectiveness of the different insulation materials.
- Insulation Application: Carefully wrap each baggie with its designated insulation material. Use tape or rubber bands to secure the insulation in place around the baggies. (Make sure to leave an opening to put the ice cubes into the baggie.)
- Ice Cubes: Place the same number of ice cubes into each baggie.
- Set the Scene: Lay the baggies out with some space between them. Make sure all the bags are in the same conditions. For example they should all receive the same amount of sun or shade and be in the same air temperature.
- Start the Timer: Begin the timer, and allow all the baggies to sit undisturbed for a specific period (e.g., 10 minutes).
- Check the Baggies: When the timer goes off, check the contents of the baggies. Carefully pour out any water that has melted to see which of the baggie’s ice cubes melted the most.
- Observations and Conclusion: Discuss which baggie kept the ice the coldest and therefore had the least melt? Was there a significant difference between the insulated baggies and the control group? Which insulation material worked best for keeping the ice cubes solid? Relate the findings to how insulation helps to maintain comfortable temperatures in homes, just like the wool insulation for Mrs. Winchester’s house.
- Extension: Can you design a better insulation? Try to combine materials or test new materials to see if you can make an amazing insulator.
Safety Precautions:
- Adult supervision is required during the experiment.
By placing the ice cubes inside baggies and wrapping the insulation materials around them, this modified experiment allows early elementary age children to explore insulation principles and understand how it helps in keeping things cool, similar to the insulation process used by Frank in The Winchester Mysteries: The Missing Necklace.