Hibernation investigation

 On Monday afternoon, we conducted an experiment to help us understand hibernation. We know that people have different pets and that they need to be looked after in special ways. We talked about the way that tortoises need to be cared for and in particular how some species hibernate throughout the Autumn and Winter months. 

For our experiment, we filled two hot water bottles with the same temperature and volume of water to that it was a fair test. The hot water bottles represented the tortoises- 'Sonic' and 'Scooby Doo'.

We then made a 'burrow' by filling a carboard box with soil and bark and then put one 'tortoise' in the 'burrow' and one in a box without soil. 

  

The children then used a timer to check the 'tortoises' every 10minutes to see whose 'body temperature' was the warmest. The recorded their findings on a recording sheet. 

 

After their investigation the Bears found out that the 'tortoise' that was surrounded by soil- insulation, in the burrow kept it's body temperature the warmest. The children explained that it was important for tortoises to keep warm over the colder months by hibernating to to save energy.