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Curriculum Resources for the Alaskan Environment
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Subject Areas: physics,
shop, community planning, local
history
Timeline:
winter
Grade Levels:
6-9
Purpose: to demonstrate
the effects of insulation; to encourage
environmental planning
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T. Gillespie and
Sharon Moore
Insulation
Experiments:
Cardboard Boxes/
Snow-Fenced Houses
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 Activities
- Experiment with insulated cardboard boxes:
set up the boxes so that the bottom is open
to the snow or ground; cut a hole in the top of each box; place
a thermometer attached to a piece of wood or string inside each
box, so that the bulb does not touch the ground
insulate the boxes with different materials
(newspaper, fabric scraps, other available materials); use one
box with no insulation at all for a control
paint the outside of some boxes black to absorb
light; pile snow or dirt around some boxes; place larger boxes
over others to make an air space for insulation
chart temperatures in the different boxes
for a week or more; record temperatures at least twice a day,
once around midday and a second time when temperatures are lower
discuss temperature differences; compare the
boxes to houses; how does insulation affect the cost of heating
a house?
- Control natural snow drifts for home insulation:
map the community; include a record of prevalent
snow drifts; talk to the elders to gather information about the
history of snow drifting
build snow fences covered with turkey wire
or wood lathing
select four village houses which are in the
same general area, the same general size, construction, with the
same size family inhabiting the house, and choose two to be protected
by snow fences
follow weather forecasts; maintain the snow
fences to provide protection from the wind on all sides
compute the percent of change in fuel oil
usage after the fences; discuss why the change occurred.
Resources
- Wyoming Department of Highways, for specifics
on snow fences
- scrap lumber and turkey wire
- local history of drifting patterns
- local weather station
- state library for weather pattern histories
- Snow Ecology Guide, Ted Major and Home
Ecological Institute, 4860 Riverbend Road, Boulder, CO 80301
- Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks
- Weller, Gunter (Ed.). (1979). Alaska Weather
and Climate. University of Alaska Fairbanks, Geophysical Institute
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Variations
- Use school trailers instead of
village houses, or construct two small buildings or
sheds; protect one with snow fencing and measure the
temperature difference between the two over a period of
times.
- Consult with the city
administration about areas with drift problems and erect
fencing to direct the drifting.
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