Teacher Resources and ActivitiesPOLAR BEAR PLUNGE

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Welcome to the Conrad Prebys Polar Bear Plunge

5Interactive Exhibits

7Polar Bears & Me:

How Do I Measure Up?

9Bear Necessities

11Bear Beginnings:The Polar Bear Life Cycle

15Bear Essentials

19Cube Connections

23Brrr! It’s Cold Here!

27Your Carbon Footprint

29Debate It!

31Write On!

33Glossary

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polarbear

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The San Diego Zoo strives to connect people to wildlife and conservation. At the Conrad Prebys Polar Bear Plunge, one of the main goals is to inform visitors about the effects of climate change on the Arctic and polar bears. In order to take steps to help the bears and other Arctic wildlife, it is important for people to understand how polar bears live, their connection to their environment, the severity of the problems they are facing in the wild, and what we can all do to make a difference.

This packet contains materials designed to prepare students for their visit to the Conrad Prebys Polar Bear Plunge exhibit. The curriculum is aligned with the California State Science Standards, and it provides hands-on activities and challenges for various grade levels to develop an understanding of polar bears, their habitat, and the threats they face.

What is Polar Bear Plunge?The new and improved Conrad Prebys Polar Bear Plunge exhibit was created as an interactive way for parents and children to discover polar bears, their environment, and conservation efforts taking place to help the bears. When visiting Polar Bear Plunge, we hope guests develop a new understanding of the polar bear’s lifestyle, the threats of climate change, and what they can do in their own lives to help. Polar bears have many adaptations for their lifestyle in the Arctic, but they need human help and protection to survive the changes taking place in their habitat.

Polar Bear lifestyleThe polar bear’s scientific name is Ursus maritimus, which means “sea bear.” These bears are considered marine mammals because they have such a close connection to the sea and the Arctic sea ice. The ice is where polar bears search for food and find mates, and it’s where females den and raise their cubs. The polar bear’s primary source of food is ringed seals, which the bears hunt by traveling on frozen sea ice and looking for the seals’ breathing holes in the ice. Polar bears can sit patiently for hours waiting for a seal to come up for air at one of the breathing holes, then grab it with their claws and pull it up onto the ice. In order to maintain enough body fat to get through the months when they cannot hunt, polar bears need to eat about 45 seals. Mother polar bears do not eat while they are in the den with cubs, and food is scarce during the summer when there is little ice.

Only pregnant females den in the fall, after feeding heavily for a couple of months. The mother digs out a protective den in the ice and snow, and she will have her cubs in December or January. She nurses them with her rich, fatty milk, and then they emerge from the den in April or May, with the cubs already weighing about 20 pounds.

The polar bear is well adapted to live in extreme Arctic conditions. Temperatures can range from -30 degrees Celsius (-22 Fahrenheit) in the cold months to 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit). A two- to four-inch-thick layer of blubber helps these bears stay warm and maintain a fairly consistent body temperature. Blubber also gives the bears more buoyancy in water when they are swimming, and it’s a nutritional reserve when food cannot be found. The bears also have a very thick and dense undercoat of fur covered by another layer of longer hairs on the top. The hairs are hollow to trap and hold warm air. This double layer of fur forms a type of waterproof barrier. Polar bears even have hair on the pads of their feet to help with traction on the ice.

Welcome to the Conrad Prebys Polar Bear Plunge at the San Diego Zoo

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Polar bears are built to hunt, breed, and raise young in their Arctic habitat and are dependent on the Arctic sea ice. Climate change is affecting the sea ice, melting it sooner in the spring and keeping it from forming longer in the fall. Polar bears must wait for the sea to freeze before they can begin hunting, and as the freeze comes later and later, the bears go hungry for longer and longer. Large areas of ice that used to be permanent are also melting, changing the landscape and habitat of the bears. Without the ice, these bears cannot survive, which is why they need our help to make a difference.

Climate changeClimate change is due to increasing amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, especially carbon dioxide (CO2). Higher levels of CO2 are creating an increase in the overall temperature of the Earth. Throughout the Earth’s history, there have been periods of warming and cooling, but the current increases in temperature are happening very rapidly as a result of human actions. A large amount of CO2 is discharged from burning fossil fuels like oil and coal, but homes are actually the source of the largest percentage of CO2 release. The United States produces more CO2 than most other countries; each household produces an average of 150 pounds of CO2 per day. In order to make changes for the Earth, we must make the necessary changes in our homes. A first step is to calculate your carbon footprint, which is the amount of greenhouse gases released as a result of your own lifestyle and habits.

Students and adults can go online to calculate their carbon footprint, and see what they can do to make a difference by making changes in their daily lives. There are a variety of ways to reduce your carbon footprint and help reduce the effects of climate change. Each time you save energy, you save CO2 from being released into the atmosphere—which can help polar bears.

ConservationThe San Diego Zoo is involved in more than 100 conservation projects in more than 30 countries around the world. Some of these projects are working to help polar bears. One of these is a study to find out a polar bear’s hearing capability. If we know what bears can hear, from how far away, and what might bother them, we can determine what impact human disturbance in their habitat might have on them. Another project follows satellite-collared polar bears at the Beaufort Sea to find out how they travel and use their habitat. Researchers are recording the distances that bears travel on land and on the ice, as well as how far they swim.

In addition, the San Diego Zoo works with other organizations that help polar bears. We have partnered with Polar Bears International in polar bear research efforts and in education programs that bring students and keepers to the Arctic to see the polar bears’ world firsthand. We also work with the Polar Bear Orphan Rescue Center in Alaska, which assists orphaned cubs that are found. The rescue center receives the orphaned cubs, helps stabilize them, and then makes the arrangements to place them in a facility or zoo to care for them.

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Story Time BooksThree oversized storybooks engage visitors and tell the tales of what is going on with our own bears at the Zoo and bears in the wild. One book tells the story of two of our three bears, the sister and brother Tatqiq and Kalluk. Another book describes the life of polar bears in the wild, and a third storybook is a look into the life of a polar bear researcher.

Measure UpLife-size statues of the polar bears allow the students and guests to see how they measure up to a polar bear. Students and guests can also compare how much a person eats to the average that a polar bear can eat. Although the babies are only about the size of a stick of butter, a female polar bear can be around 8 feet tall and weigh almost 700 pounds while a male polar bear can be up to 10 feet tall and weigh over 1,700 pounds.

While there, don’t forget to open the refrigerator to see that the polar bear can eat over 100 pounds of seal meat and blubber in one sitting. The bears need to eat an average of 45 seals to keep a thick layer of blubber on them, as well as to get them through the months when there is very little access to the ringed seals.

Carbon Graph A carbon graph in Polar Bear Plunge shows the concentration of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide over a span of three hundred years. The display compares the carbon dioxide levels from when humans first started burning fossil fuels to present day. The graph also shows the proposed optimum concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, the current concentration, and how high the concentration could go if people don’t make changes.

San Diego Zoo’s Conrad Prebys Polar Bear Plunge Interactive Exhibits

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It’s MeltingTwo sculpted maps of Hudson Bay that were created from actual NASA satellite images taken in 1989 and in 2007 show visitors how much the ice coverage has changed in less than 20 years.

Snow Den The enlarged polar bear den allows guests the opportunity to crawl around inside, as the mother polar bears would do with their cubs. The actual size of a real den would be approximately the size of a telephone booth, which is enough room for the mother and her cubs.

Near this snow den, there is also a place where the visitors can poke their head up through the sea ice, just like the ringed seal, the polar bear’s main prey.

Research HelicopterVisitors to Polar Bear Plunge will have the opportunity to climb into a helicopter to discover one way that researchers study the bears. Since the bears are so far out in the tundra and ice, the best way to observe the bears and stay safe is to take a helicopter out to get a closer look. The San Diego Zoo has partnered with the organization Polar Bears International in a variety of research projects. The goal is to study and become more aware of polar bear reproduction, mother and cub behavior, cub development, and how humans are impacting their environment.

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objective: Students will be able to identify the similarities and differences between polar bears and humans.

IntroductionPolar bears are mammals, just like you and me. This means that they are warm-blooded, have fur or hair, give birth to live babies, breathe air, and drink milk when they are young. They are vertebrates, meaning they have backbones like we do to support their bodies. They have eyes, ears, a mouth, a nose, and even five toes on each foot! But polar bears are different from us in many ways. For example, a polar bear’s nose works really well! They can smell seals on the ice up to 20 miles away. Can a human do that?

ActivityStep 1: Copy and pass out the activity sheet titled “How Do I Measure Up?” on page 10.Step 2: Discuss what it means to be a mammal. Explain that polar bears and people are both mammals and have a

lot in common.Step 3: Ask the students how polar bears are different from us. Read the following prompts to discuss the

difference in size:• Male polar bears can be up to 10 feet tall when standing up on their two hind legs. That is taller

than the tallest person that has ever lived. Even when a polar bear stands on all four legs they can easily be over 5 feet tall. How tall are you when you stand on your tippy toes? Measure each student and record the height on their worksheet.

• When polar bears are born they weigh only about one pound. How much did you weigh when you were born? When a polar bear grows up, it will weigh between 440 and 1,750 pounds. That is as much as a small car! Do you weigh as much as a car? How many people would it take to equal the weight of a polar bear? Weigh each student and record their weight on their worksheet.

Step 4: Have the children trace over the lines to complete the polar bear’s body.Step 5: Read the following prompts:

• A polar bear’s legs are thick and strong. Make sure your polar bear has four legs. How many legs do you have? Trace over your legs.

• Polar bears have short, sharp claws on each of their toes. Will you draw claws on your bear’s feet? Do you have claws? Draw what you have on your feet.

• Polar bears have dark brown eyes . What color eyes do you have? • A polar bear’s fur is very thick. It may look white, but it is actually made up of clear, hollow tubes.

This helps the bear float and stay warm. Will you give the polar bear fur all over its body (except for on its nose!)? What kind of covering do you have on your body? Do you have hair? What do you wear to keep warm?

Step 6: Have the students put the finishing touches on their pictures and share with the class. Ask the children to explain what is similar and different about these two mammals.

Polar Bears & Me: How Do I Measure Up?

Correlates with the Science Content Standards:Similarities and Differences

Polar bears need to eat a lot of food to survive

in their cold habitat. A polar bear in the

wild can eat over 100 pounds of food at

a time! How long would it take you to eat that much food? Visit the

“How You Measure Up” exhibit at the San

Diego Zoo’s Polar Bear Plunge and check out the refrigerator full of

polar bear food.

PreK

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activity sheet

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MEHeight = _________Weight = _________

POLAR BEARHeight = 6.5 – 10 feet tallWeight = 440 – 1,750 pounds

Polar Bears & Me: How Do I Measure Up?

activity sheet

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objective: Students will be able to identify the habitats and preferred foods of five bear species, including the polar bear.

IntroductionBears can be found around the world, from the icy Arctic to the forests of South America. They have special features that help them thrive in different environments. Bear species have different diets depending on their habitat, or the environment in which they live. All bears are omnivorous, meaning they can eat both plants and meat. Some bears eat primarily plants and berries while others like to eat insects or fish. Polar bears eat seals, hunting them from ice floes.

ActivityStep 1: Ask the students to identify some of their favorite types of foods. Explain that bears around the world have

favorite foods as well. What kinds of foods would a bear eat? Step 2: Discuss what it means to be an omnivore. Humans are omnivores, too! While some types of bears eat

mostly plants, others eat mostly meat. What they like to eat often depends on where they live. What are some habitats where bears might live?

Step 3: Copy and pass out the activity sheet titled “Habitats and Favorite Foods” on page 13. Have the students cut out the squares along the dotted lines.

Step 4: Copy and pass out the activity sheet titled “Bear Necessities” on page 14. Explain that you will be giving the students “clues” about these five different species of bears, describing their habitats and the foods that they eat. While you are reading, ask the students to match each bear with its habitat and favorite foods.

Step 5: Read the following “clues”:• [Example given] Sloth bears are found in rocky, dry forests of India. Their long claws and flexible

noses allow them to search for creepy crawly critters in the ground. Sloth bears have a gap between their two front teeth that helps them vacuum up insects! They also eat honey, sugarcane, flowers, fruit, eggs, and grubs. Termites and ants, however, are their favorite foods. Don’t worry—they can close their nostrils so they won’t get ants up their nose! Can you do that?

• Polar bears live in the Arctic where it is extremely cold. Every year, they follow the ice floes, hoping to find a tasty meal. Although polar bears can eat many things, including walruses, whales, birds, grass, kelp, and eggs, their favorite food is seals. Eating seals helps polar bears fatten up for the summer when they will not be able to hunt. They must pack on blubber to stay alive.

• The giant panda is found in the misty and mountain forests of Asia. This bear has very strong jaws and teeth, allowing it to crush and chew bamboo. Bamboo, a type of grass, does not have a lot of nutrients and pandas have to eat a lot of it to survive (imagine having celery for breakfast, lunch, and dinner). Wild pandas will eat up to 85 pounds of bamboo in one day!

• Alaskan brown bears, or Kodiak bears, are the largest type of brown bear. There are many rivers and streams in their North American habitat, known as the tundra. Every summer, when the salmon swim upstream to lay their eggs, the Alaskan brown bear will eat a fishy feast. Their favorite parts are the brains and skin.

Bear Necessities

Correlates with the Science Content Standards:Plant and animal needs

Many bear species are endangered. This means that there are

so few of them left that they could go extinct in the next 10 to 15 years.

What can humans do to help? How

can recycling paper and aluminum help

conserve bear habitat? How does saving

electricity help polar bears? Visit the Polar

Bear Plunge exhibit at the San Diego Zoo or

www.sandiegozoo.org to learn more about

action steps that help endangered species.

Grade1

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activity sheet

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Bear Necessities

• Spectacled bears (also known as Andean bears), are found in the forests and grasslands of South America. They are true arboreal bears, meaning they spend most of their time in the trees. Spectacled bears will build platform nests made of branches and leaves. They eat mainly plants, such as fruit, bromeliads, and palms. When they poop, the seeds from the plants they eat help new plants grow!

Step 6: Have the students color their squares and glue them to the worksheet or take them home to quiz their family and friends.

activity sheet

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Bear Necessities

Habitats & Favorite Foods

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activity sheet

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Bear Necessities

Bear Habitat Favorite Food

Sloth Bear Dry Forest Insects

Polar Bear

Giant Panda

Alaskan Brown Bear

Spectacled Bear

activity sheet

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objective: Students will be able to sequence the stages of polar bear cub development.

IntroductionWhat did you look like when you were a baby? Like you and other mammals, young polar bears look like miniature versions of adults. But unlike humans, polar bears cubs are less than 1½ pounds when they are born! They are among the most underdeveloped young of any mammal. Not to mention they are born in the middle of winter in the harsh climate of the Arctic! How do they survive? Polar bear moms work really hard, even before cubs are born, to make sure they will grow to be healthy adults.

ActivityStep 1: Ask students to bring a baby picture to class (from when they were less than two years old). Step 2: Discuss the early stages of a human’s life: How did your family prepare for you to be born? How much did

you weigh when you were born? What did you need? How did you keep warm? How long did it take before you could eat, walk, and survive on your own?

Step 3: Ask the students what they think polar bear cubs look like when they are first born. Explain that they are going to hear a story about a polar bear mother and her cubs.

Step 4: Read the following story aloud: It is springtime in the Arctic. A six-year-old pregnant polar bear travels to the ice to

forage for food. Using the ice as a platform from which to hunt, she settles by a breathing hole in the ice and waits for a seal—her favorite meal. For the next five months, the mother polar bear stays on the ice, hunting as many seals as she can find. She will also eat other small mammals, birds, grass, kelp, and eggs, gulping them down as quickly as possible. She has to hurry so she can store lots of fat in her body to survive the months ahead. At the beginning of the summer, the mother polar bear weighs 440 pounds. But by fall, she will need to double her body weight so she will be able to produce milk for her young when they are born! As the edge of the ice melts in the early summer, the polar bear mother travels long distances to stay with the ice floe. She will continue to eat enormous amounts of food if she can find it.

In October, the mother polar bear gets to work creating a den, where her new family will live for the winter. She finds a slope in the pack ice that is covered in 10 feet of snow. First, she carves out a cave in the snow. She then digs a narrow U-shaped tunnel in the ice that is about 2 feet wide and 6 feet long. At the end of the tunnel, she creates a single chamber, or room in the ice, that is only 3 feet high. The shape of the den has to be just right so it will keep warm air from escaping and help her family survive the extreme cold.

By the end of November, the mother polar bear enters the ice den. She does not hibernate, but instead goes into winter sleep, her body slowing down to conserve energy. She won’t be able to eat until next spring!

In January, the polar bear gives birth to twins! When her cubs are born they weigh less than 1½ pounds each! They are blind and helpless, with only a little bit of fur to cover their bodies. The mother polar bear begins to feed them milk so they can fatten up. Her milk is 40% fat, the richest milk of any bear species (whole cow’s milk is less than 4% fat). The cubs dig small alcoves in the den to stay warm.

Bear Beginnings: The Polar Bear Life Cycle

Correlates with the Science Content Standards:Life Cycles

Climate change is causing Arctic

temperatures to rise and sea ice to melt.

If polar bears need ice to hunt and to create

dens for the winter, what effects can climate

change have on polar bear life cycles? Visit www.sandiegozoo.org

“Your Carbon Footprint” to find out ways we

can help.

Grade2

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activity sheet

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The polar bear cubs grow quickly. By March, they each weigh 30 pounds. In late March, the mother polar bear crawls out of the den, followed by her cubs. They begin to explore the white wonderland of the Arctic. They roll and play, learning to use their muscles by toddling along on their short, stubby legs. The mother polar bear is extremely hungry after not eating for several months. The cubs follow her to the sea ice to find seals.

The cubs are curious, playing on the ice and learning how to stalk and hunt. They continue to grow by drinking their mother’s milk. By the time they are 5 months old, they can eat solid foods, including seals. They stay on the ice all summer long, storing up fat for the winter. For two years, the cubs stay with their mom. When they are ready, they will head off into the Arctic, in search of a platform of ice to call their own.

Step 5: Discuss the stages of a polar bear’s life (eating seals, digging a den, winter sleep, birth of cubs, drinking milk, learning to hunt). What does a polar bear need to survive?

Step 6: Copy and pass out the activity sheet titled “Bear Beginnings” on pages 17 and 18. Have students cut out the squares along the dotted lines.

Step 7: Ask the students to put the events in the order in which they occur. When they have done so, allow them to color the pictures and staple them together to create their very own life cycle book!

Bear Beginnings: The Polar Bear Life Cycle

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activity sheet

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Bear Beginnings: The Polar Bear Life Cycle

Babies emerge from the den for the first time in spring. They play, hunt, and explore.

A pregnant polar bear searches for food on the ice floes. She will hunt seals and gain at least 440 extra pounds by the end of summer!

Bear BeginningsLife Cycle of the Polar Bear

by:

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A polar bear mom will usually give birth to twins! When a cub is born, it is blind and weighs only 1 pounds. It drinks milk from its mother to grow quickly and stay warm.

activity sheet

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When the cubs are 2 years old, they will leave their mother in search of their own patch of ice!

A mother polar bear teaches her cubs to hunt seals.

A mother polar bear will enter a den in mid-November. She does not hibernate. Instead, she goes into a “winter sleep” where her body will use very little energy.

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In the fall, the mother polar bear will find a slope in the ice and dig a U-shaped den.

activity sheet

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objective: To identify and determine which adaptations bears have to help them survive in very different habitats and climates.

IntroductionAn adaptation is defined as a physical feature or behavioral trait that helps an animal survive in its habitat. Animals that live in the Arctic have special adaptations that enable them to survive in such a harsh environment. Many animals have thick fur, blubber layers, large feet for walking in the snow, and small ears for reducing heat loss. These are examples of physical adaptations. Animals can also have behavioral adaptations for cold weather such as migration, hibernation, and dormancy.

Polar bears have long necks, slender heads, and white fur. They live along the Arctic coasts, mostly on the polar ice. They feed mainly on fish and seals. Hair: An outer coat of long guard hairs that stick together when wet, forming a waterproof barrier to keep them dry. Even though polar bears look white, their hair is really made of clear, hollow tubes filled with air. Blubber: Blubber helps insulate polar bears from the freezing air and cold water and acts as a nutritional reserve when food can’t be found. This blubber also helps the bears float in the water. Winter Sleep: When the temperature outside drops, many bears stay warm by making a small den in the snow banks and sleep. Polar bears do not hibernate, but their body functions do slow down at this time. Many scientists call this “winter sleep,” because the bears can easily be awakened. A mother polar bear can give birth and nurse her young while still in her winter sleep.

Brown bears can be found in all sizes and shades, from a light cream color to almost black. Their habitat ranges from coniferous forests, open meadows, and mountainous regions. Brown bears dig up most of their food so they have long claws. They eat roots, tubers, gophers, marmots, smaller rodents, and fish, as well as carrion. They have wide heads and a “dished” face. Brown bears have a large hump of muscle on top of their shoulders. They dig large, cozy dens for their winter home. The bears spend four to six months a year curled deep in sleep in a den. This sleep is commonly called hibernation, but unlike true hibernation, the bears’ body temperature does not drop drastically.

Black bears are quiet, shy animals that live in a variety of habitats from rain forests to mountainous forests, dry forests to grasslands. They eat mostly nuts, berries and fruit, rodents, insects, and birds. The black bear may be black, auburn, or cinnamon. Black bears are smaller than grizzlies or polar bears and have more pointed heads. Many black bear species live and give birth up in trees, although some prefer to make small, shallow caves near rivers.

Giant panda bears live in damp, misty bamboo forests in the mountains of China. They eat primarily bamboo but can also eat fruit, shrubs, and grasses. Giant pandas are the only exclusively herbivorous or plant-eating bear. They are black and white in coloration and have black fur on their ears, eye patches, muzzle, legs, arms, and shoulders. The rest of the animal’s coat is white. They have thick, heavy bones but are very flexible. Pandas make their dens in either hollowed-out trees or on rocky ledges.

“Bear” Essentials

Correlates with the Science Content Standards:Adaptations

The San Diego Zoo’s Polar Bear Plunge exhibit has a much

warmer climate than the Arctic. How do

polar bears adjust to San Diego’s climate?

Grade3

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activity sheet

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ActivityStep 1: Show the students a picture of a polar bear. Ask them to think/pair/share – How does a polar bear

survive in such a cold climate? Think about polar bear’s adaptations, then talk to their neighbor about the adaptations they came up with and then share with the class in a guided discussion by the teacher.

Step 2: Hand out copies of the bear activity sheet on page 21. Enlarge and hand out the bear habitat activity sheet on page 22. Tell the students to cut out the four bear species and lay them out on the habitat they think the bear belongs in.

Step 3: Have students check with neighbors and/or teacher to determine if correct. Then have students glue each bear into its habitat.

Step 4: After students glue bears on, have students write 3 adaptations each bear has to help it survive in its habitat (i.e., polar bears have blubber, thick fur, and black skin to help them stay warm in their Arctic habitat).

Step 5: Discuss how adaptations help all living things survive and how there are both physical and behavioral adaptations.

“Bear” Essentials

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activity sheet

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“Bear” Essentials

POLAR BEAR

BLACK BEAR

BROWN BEAR

GIANT PANDA

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activity sheet

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“Bear” Essentials

Small den in a snow bank

A tree

A cave in a wooded area

A den within a hollowed-out tree in a bamboo forest

BearHabitat

activity sheet

22 23

objective: This activity is designed to give the students an understanding of the food web and how plants and animals in the Arctic ecosystem are dependent upon one another. Students will understand that when one organism is removed from the picture, then the others begin to fall from the food web as well.

IntroductionThere are specific relationships of the organisms in the Arctic that make up the ecosystem. The Arctic is tied together just the same as any other ecosystem. There are physical factors in the environment, as well as living organisms such as the plants and the animals. If one animal or plant disappears, it affects all the other organisms that live in that habitat and there is a breakdown that occurs. When one organism disappears it creates a chain reaction that affects other organisms; this then causes a disruption in the food web of the Arctic.

ActivityThere are four different types of cubes that the students will create. The students will then stack the cubes to resemble the food chain and how the different parts of the ecosystem all affect one another.Step 1: Give each student four cube template sheets on page 24 and one Cube Connections activity sheet

on page 25. Step 2: Have the students cut out the cube templates.Step 3: Have the students cut out the squares on the Cube Connections activity sheet and

match each description to sea ice, Arctic cod, ringed seal, or polar bear.Step 4: Students can then glue the square matches on the cube templates. Challenge the

students to research and add at least one additional fact onto each cube. They can draw and color to illustrate sea ice, Arctic cod, ringed seals, and polar bears.

Step 5: The students will then construct the cubes. Fold along the correct lines, and glue the folds together to form a block. Do this to all the cubes.

Step 6: The next step is deciding the order the blocks will be stacked. Which predator will go on the top? Will there be a physical factor to the environment on the bottom layer? Once the cubes are stacked, have the students describe their setup. Why is the animal they chose on top? Does it fit the food chain, meaning is the animal below it a prey animal? Challenge the kids to create a hypothesis of what will happen when some of the blocks are removed from the food chain.

Step 7: Allow them to take one block away from one of the lower layers near the bottom. This demonstrates how the physical factors and living organisms are tied together; not only a tight food chain of needing one another, but an entire ecosystem of needing each other. Discuss with the students, and allow them to reflect on the exercise. Help the students understand the ecosystem and how the food chains are connected and all depend on each other. Why did all the blocks fall: was there anything missing from the food chain in this example that could be added?

Step 8: When the students understand the connection, allow them the opportunity to create their own food chain in the Arctic ecosystem. The blank cube template can be copied for the students to create their own food chain and demonstrate that all the organisms depend on each other.

Cube Connections

Correlates with the Science Content Standards:Food chains and food webs

If the polar bears could no longer get to the

ringed seals, and they started to find a new food

source, what would this do to the food web in

the Arctic?

Grade4

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SUN

PRODUCER

PRIMARYCONSUMER

SECONDARYCONSUMER

DECOMPOSER

activity sheet

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activity sheet

25

Cube Connections

FOLD

Each student receives four copies of the cube template.

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activity sheet

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activity sheet

25

Cube Connections

RINGED SEAL

POLAR BEAR

SEA ICE

ARCTIC COD

They are very common throughout the Arctic waters. This organism lives in a group called a colony. They can be the predator at times, while during other times, they

can be the prey.This is the physical factor of the Arctic habitat that so many animals call home.

Although it is home to many animals, this area is disappearing at an

alarming rate.

This species is not

a type of predator; it

needs to be cautious of

the meal that it could

become at any time.

This species is one of

few of its kind that can

survive in temperatures

below zero degrees

Fahrenheit deep in the

water where it swims.

This large predator will occasionally eat berries and scattered meals of meat, but it has one

primary source of food.

Each student receives one copy of this page. Cut out the squares and match the descriptions to sea ice, Arctic cod, ringed seal, or polar bear onto the cube template.

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objective: To identify and determine which adaptations polar bears have to help them survive in an extremely cold climate.

IntroductionPolar bears live in Arctic conditions that can range from -30 degrees Celsius (-22 Fahrenheit) in the cold months to 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) in warmer months. With these extreme temperatures, the polar bears, and other Arctic animals, need to be very well adapted to keeping warm. Many animals have thick fur, blubber layers, large feet for walking in the snow, and small ears for reducing heat loss.

Polar bears have a thick layer of blubber that acts as an insulator to keep them warm, as well as a thick fur coat that is highly specialized. Their coat contains long “guard” hairs that stick together when wet to act like a waterproof jacket. Polar bears will shake the water off of their bodies as soon as they emerge from the icy waters to keep the water from freezing into ice.

Polar bears’ white fur also provides camouflage in the white snow. If you could look underneath that white coat, you’d find the polar bear has black skin. This black skin absorbs heat to assist in warming the polar bear while it is in the sun. Polar bears (like many snow animals) have large feet that act like snowshoes while they walk so they don’t sink deep into the snow. The hair that covers the bottom of their feet not only keeps their feet warmer in the snow but also keeps the bear from slipping on the ice. These are just a few of the many adaptations polar bears have that help them survive in the cold Arctic climate.

ActivityNote: The activities listed on page 28 are all experiments to help students discover some of the polar bear’s specialized adaptations. Depending on teacher’s preferences and time, one, a few, or all of these activities can be performed.

Materials picture of a polar bear, 2-3 small buckets, shaved ice, Vaseline®, butter or

oil, toilet paper or paper towel rolls, plastic gloves or small plastic bags, thermometer, white socks, black socks, white paper, black paper, shortening, down coat (or other warm coat), pencil

Step 1: Teacher explains what an adaptation is and how adaptations help animals survive in their environment. Teacher holds up a picture of a polar bear for students to see. Have students write down 3-4 adaptations they think a polar bear has and how these adaptations help the polar bear survive in the Arctic.

Step 2: Teacher explains that the class is going to discover how polar bear’s adaptations help them survive in such a cold climate through experimentation.

Step 3: Teacher can have students do each experiment together, in smaller groups, or each experiment separately.

Brrr! It’s Cold Here!

Correlates with the Science Content Standards:Investigation and Experimentation

If you were to take a trip up to the Arctic,

what would you need to pack in your suitcase

to survive? How would these items help

you in the Arctic’s cold climate? What

adaptations do we have that would help us

survive in the Arctic?

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Brrr! It’s Cold Here!

Experiments

Large feet – Fill a bucket halfway up with shaved ice. Have students hold a pencil straight up over the ice and drop it into the ice. How far did the pencil fall into the ice? Next have students turn the pencil sideways and drop it into the shaved ice. How far did the pencil fall into the ice? Record their answers. If both pencils are the same weight, why does one sink farther into the ice than the other? What does this have to do with polar bears’ feet?

Black skin – Have students place a black sock on one hand and a white sock on the other hand. Have students stand outside in the sun, holding their covered hands out in the light (or they can place under a heat lamp with adult supervision if there is no sun out). Students can use a thermometer to get a specific reading or just feel the difference in heat absorbed between the two colored socks. Which hand feels warmer? Why? Why is it advantageous for a polar bear to have black skin under its white coat?

Water protection – Have students take 2 toilet paper or paper towel rolls. One should be coated on the outside with Vaseline®, butter or oil, while the other is uncoated. Submerge both in a bucket of water for 3 minutes. After 3 minutes, which roll has more water damage? Why? What adaptation do polar bears have on their coat that helps them repel water?

Fur coat – Have students take a thermometer and hold it under their armpit for one minute and record reading. Then have students put on a down jacket (or other warm jacket) for 5 minutes and repeat holding the thermometer under their armpit for one minute. Record the readings. What is the difference in temperature? Why?

Camouflage – Have students cut out one shape of a polar bear out of white paper and one shape of a polar bear out of black paper. Once the shapes are cut out, have students take turns placing shapes on the black paper and white paper. Which combination of shapes stands out? Which blends in? If a polar bear has a black nose, how might it completely camouflage itself?

Blubber – Have students cover one hand with two plastic gloves or plastic bags. Then have students cover the other hand with one plastic glove or bag. Then place that covered hand into another plastic bag filled with shortening. Have students place both hands into a bucket of ice water at the same time and see which hand feels colder faster. You can also use a thermometer for more accurate readings. Why does the hand in shortening feel warmer than the hand without the shortening? How does blubber help the polar bear stay warmer in cold weather and cold water?

Fatty milk – Have students (who are not lactose intolerant) taste 3 different types of milk – nonfat (0% fat), whole milk (~3% fat), and heavy cream (38% fat). What percent fat is in each one? What does each taste like? Baby polar bears drink their mother’s milk, which is 40% fat. Why would it be important for baby polar bears to have a high percentage of fat content in their mother’s milk?

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objective: To calculate your family’s carbon footprint and find ways to reduce it.

IntroductionWhat is a carbon footprint? It is the total set of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an organization, household, event, or product through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating, transportation, etc. The total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities is usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2).

Now, did you know that the average person in the U.S. generates about 21 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year? The choices we make in our daily lives—at home and traveling, the food we eat, and what we buy and throw away—all contribute to our carbon footprint. By becoming aware of how our choices affect the health of the planet and taking simple steps to consume less fossil fuel, we can ensure a healthier world for ourselves and species around the globe, including polar bears. Humans have the power to change direction and help revitalize the planet in just a few easy steps: 1) Calculate your carbon footprint; 2) Reduce your carbon footprint; 3) Mitigate the carbon emissions you contribute to the atmosphere.

You can help reduce your carbon footprint and save valuable tropical forests by contributing to the San Diego Zoo’s Living Forest program. This is referred to as a “carbon offset” because it prevents the destruction of forests that absorb greenhouse gases. By preserving one acre of forest, you are preventing emission of about 19 metric tons of carbon dioxide from staying in the atmosphere.

ActivityStep 1: Have the students take the Carbon Footprint Calculator activity sheet on page 30 home to fill out with

their family.Step 2: When they return to class with their assignment have students go to the Web site:

http://blog.sandiegozoo.org/carbon-footprint/carbon-footprint-calculatorStep 3: Have students follow the prompts and enter their information.Step 4: After the totals have been calculated, have students write down their results:

a) Total metric tons of CO2

b) Amount of offset needed c) Number of acres saved by offset

Step 5: Add up the total carbon footprint for the class; discuss results with the students and what these results mean for the health of our planet and for polar bears.

Step 6: Have students break into smaller groups to brainstorm ways they can reduce their carbon footprint; ways to mitigate the carbon emissions they contribute to the atmosphere; and ways they could raise the money needed to offset the amount of carbon emissions they produce each year by buying acres of forest through the San Diego Zoo’s Living Forest program (examples: plan a recycling drive with the help of the San Diego Zoo’s Cans for Critters program: http://donate.sandiegozoo.org/site/TR?fr_id=1100&pg=entry; adopt an animal from the San Diego Zoo’s adoption program: http://www.sandiegozoo.org/adopt/animal.html, etc.).

Your Carbon Footprint

Correlates with the Science Content Standards:Ecology/Natural Selection/Conservation

How does saving an endangered forest in

South America help polar bears in the

Arctic?

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As an extension, have students

and their families discuss ways

to reduce their carbon footprint

and make “greener” choices for a

healthier planet. Have students do

a writing assignment based on their

family’s findings and discussions

about their carbon footprint.

activity sheet

30 31

Calculate Your Carbon Emission

Number of people in household:

Car TravelTotal yearly car miles (All cars combined):

Average gas mileage (miles per gallon):

(All cars averaged)

Air TravelYearly air miles traveled: (Note: NYC to LA round trip is 5,000 miles):

EnergyAverage monthly electric bill (If you don’t know, enter average $100):

Average monthly natural gas bill (If you don’t know, enter average $105):

For heating oil users only: enter average monthly fuel oil bill:

WasteDo you recycle paper? Yes No

Do you recycle aluminum, glass, plastic? Yes No

GeneralThis is your per capita share of the carbon footprint of society.It takes into account food, entertainment, schools, roads, etc.

Totals for yearTOTAL metric tons CO2:

Amount of offset needed:

Number of acres saved by offset:

Complete at school – Class resultsTOTAL metric tons CO2:

Amount of offset needed:

Number of acres saved by offset:

I spend LESS than average

I’m an average consumer

I spend MORE than average

Brrr! It’s Cold Here!

CarbonFootprintCalculator

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30 31

objective: Students will learn the debate process through debating a topic relevant to global climate change and polar bear conservation efforts.

IntroductionThe process of decision making is rarely simple. There are often hotly debated issues that must be considered by teams of people before policy can be established, and nowhere is that more true than in the environmental and conservation arenas.

ActivityStep 1: Describe the debate process to your students. Explain that they will be working in teams, taking sides,

and arguing the pros and cons of one of today’s most controversial issues.Step 2: Provide students with topic information and allow them time to research their side and prepare for the

debate. Go to www.youtube.com and search “climate change debate” for scores of information on both sides of the issue. Other information can be found at www.sandiegozoo.org/conservation and www.polarbearsinternational.org.

Step 3: Visit the San Diego Zoo’s Polar Bear Plunge exhibit to collect more information and see polar bears in person.

Step 4: Debate!

Possible topics include: Climate change is a fact/myth. Human needs are more important than animal needs. Human behaviors do/do not contribute to climate change. Polar bears are/are not threatened. Polar bears are/are not worth saving.

Debate It!

Correlates with the Science Content Standards:Research, Evidence, and Point of View

Argument isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Since the beginning of time, people have had different perspectives on different situations.

Were you asked to debate a position that

you didn’t agree with, or one that you did agree

with? How would you argue the opposite side?

How do you think sharing opinions is beneficial to

understanding?

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objective: Students will learn to write a blog about an animal they learned about at the San Diego Zoo.

IntroductionWhat is a blog? A blog (short for Web log) is an online journal. It can be about anything you want and is usually set up chronologically, with the most recent entry found at the top of the page. People can read your blog, make comments about the content and link them to your site, or e-mail their thoughts to you. You can read their comments and keep them so others can read them, or you can delete them. All types of people write blogs, from journalists and politicians to scientists and students like you!

Materials Computer Internet access

ActivityStep 1: Describe a blog to your students. Step 2: Visit the San Diego Zoo’s Web site, www.sandiegozoo.org, and check out the blog section (link is on the top

right of the San Diego Zoo Safari Park pages). Keepers, educators, curators, researchers, and other San Diego Zoo employees write these blogs.

Step 3: Visit Polar Bears International’s Web site, www.polarbearsinternational.org. Look for information on polar bear tracking, ice loss, PBI-supported research, and their Leadership Camp.

Step 4: Visit the San Diego Zoo’s Polar Bear Plunge exhibit to learn more about polar bears and global climate change.

Discuss the students’ observations and research, and ask the students the following questions:1. What does a polar bear need to survive?2. How has the Earth’s climate changed over the past 100 years? 500 years?3. What is the tundra like?4. What is the San Diego Zoo doing to help polar bears?5. Is there anything you can do to help polar bears and their habitat?6. What surprised you?7. What did you learn?

Step 5: Ask students to write their blogs.Step 6: Open a free blog account (try blogger.com or livejournal.com) for your class. It takes a few minutes to

sign up and then you can post your students’ blogs.Step 7: Share your blog information with your students’ parents and ask them to go online and comment on the

blogs’ content.

Write On!

Correlates with the Science Content Standards:Writing Applications, Writing Strategies

Correlates with English Language Development Standards:Writing Applications, Writing Strategies

We live in an age where information sharing can

be almost instantaneous. Is having fast, world-

wide access to facts and opinions a good thing

for science? For society? How? Are there

ways to counter potential problems?

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Write On!

SampleBlog

MONDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2010

Polar Bear Plunge is Cool!

My class visited Polar Bear Plunge at the San Diego Zoo. As we entered the exhibit

we saw 3 super-sized, six-page illustrated storybooks that gave fun facts about

polar bears. I then compared my size to that of an adult polar bear statue, a cub,

and a tiny newborn. It took 12 of my classmates to stand on a scale to weigh as

much as a polar bears—1,500 pounds. We then peeked into a refrigerator to see

how much polar bears eat. Their favorite food is seal. Females create snow dens

to give birth to their young. We were able to crawl into a replica of a snug den.

The best part was getting close to a real polar bear. A keeper had a polar bear

demonstrate behaviors through a wire mesh fence. I crawled into a helicopter

that researchers use to follow polar bears and then hopped from ice floe to ice

floe like a polar bear. Finally I learned how our carbon footprint affects climate

change and polar bear habitat.

POSTED BY JANE DOE AT 6:29 PM 2 COMMENTS

LABELS: carbon footprint, climate change, den, habitat, helicopter, ice floe, polar bear,

researcher, San Diego Zoo, seal

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2010

Debate It!

Our teacher divided us into groups today. We are assigned to do a debate on

climate change. I’m on the side to argue that climate change is a fact. The other

team will debate that it’s a myth. I have been doing research on the Web. So far I

have learned that the Earth’s temperature has increased over the last 100 years.

Climate change is caused by increased carbon dioxide emissions. The average

household produces 150 lbs. of CO2 a day. This change in temperature has caused

the Arctic ice to decline affecting polar bear habitat.

POSTED BY JANE DOE AT 6:29 PM 10 COMMENTS

LABELS: Arctic ice, carbon dioxide, carbon footprint, climate change, CO2, debate,

habitat, polar bear

ABOUT ME

JANE DOE

SAN DIEGO

VIEW MY COMPLETE PROFILE

LABELS

Arctic ice (1)

carbon footprint (2)

carbon dioxide (1)

climate change (2)

CO2 (1)

debate (2)

den

habitat (2)

helicopter (1)

ice floe (1)

polar bear (2)

researcher (1)

San Diego Zoo (1)

seal (1)

BLOG ARCHIVE

� 2010 (8)

� September (2)

MY ZOO BLOG

http://www.mydolphinblog.blogspot.com

My Dolphin Blog

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34 35

Glossary

Adaptation: a body part, body covering, or behavior that helps an animal survive in its environment

Alaskan brown bear: a subspecies of brown bear in coastal Alaska and British Columbia Alcove: any recessed or small space

Arboreal: living in or among trees

Arctic: pertaining to, or located at or near the North Pole; characteristic of the extremely cold, snowy, windy weather north of the Arctic Circle

Atmosphere: the gaseous envelope surrounding the Earth; the air

Bamboo: any of the woody or treelike tropical and semitropical grasses of the genera Bambusa, Phyllostachys, Dendrocalamus, having woody, usually hollow stems with stalked blades and flowering only after years of growth

Behavior: the actions of an animal

Blog: an online journal (short for a Web log)

Blubber: the fat layer between the skin and muscle of whales, seals, walruses, polar bears, and other marine mammals

Breathing hole: a hole in the ice that many marine mammals use to breathe air

Camouflage: a color or shape in an animal’s body covering that helps it blend into its environment

Carbon dioxide: a colorless, odorless, incombustible gas, CO2, present in the atmosphere

Carbon dioxide emissions: The amount of carbon dioxide gas released into the atmosphere

Carbon footprint: a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide produced by a person, organization, or location at a given time

Carbon offset: a financial instrument aimed at a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon offsets are measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2)

Carnivore/Carnivorous: a meat-eating animal/eating only meat foods

Climate: the weather conditions of a region, as temperature, air pressure, humidity, precipitation, sunshine, cloudiness, and winds, throughout the year, averaged over a series of years

36 37

Climate change: the change that occurs as a result of differences in weather patterns such as rainfall and temperature over many decades; may be caused by increased carbon dioxide emissions

Chamber: a compartment or enclosed space; cavity

Debate: a formal contest in which the affirmative and negative sides of a proposition are advocated by opposing speakers

Den: the lair or shelter of a wild animal; a cave used as a place of shelter or concealment

Dormancy: the act of lying asleep; in a state of rest or inactivity

Ecosystem: the natural environment that includes both physical factors, like the rocks and dirt, and the organisms like the plants and the animals. An ecosystem usually includes a number of different food webs.

Endangered: threatened with extinction

Environment: everything that surrounds and affects a living thing

Extinct: no longer in existence

Forage: the seeking or obtaining of food; the act of searching for provisions of any kind

Fossil fuel: A hydrocarbon deposit, such as petroleum, coal, or natural gas, derived from living matter of a previous geologic time and used for fuel

Giant panda: a white-and-black bear, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, now rare and restricted to forest areas of central China containing stands of bamboo, on which it mainly subsists

Greenhouse gases: gases in an atmosphere that absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared range. The main greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone

Habitat: the place where an animal lives

Herbivore/Herbivorous: a plant-eating animal/eating only plant food

Hibernation: to spend the winter in close quarters in a dormant condition, as bears and certain other animals

Ice floe: a large flat mass of floating ice

Ice loss: the reduction of patches of ice

Instinct: a behavior an animal is born with and does not have to learn

Insulator: a material that prevents or reduces the passage, transfer, or leakage of heat

Metric ton: a unit of 1,000 kilograms, equivalent to 2,205 pounds

Migration: the act of moving from one country, region, or place to another

36 37

Mimicry: an adaptation in which an otherwise harmless animal looks like a harmful animal in order to protect itself

Mitigate: to make less severe

Omnivore/Omnivorous: An animal that eats both meat and plants/eating both animal and plant foods

Pack ice: a large area of floating ice formed over a period of many years and consisting of pieces of ice driven together by wind, current, etc.

Polar bear: a large white bear, Ursus maritimus, of the Arctic regions

Predator: an animal that hunts and eats other animals (prey) for food

Prey: an animal that is taken and eaten by another animal (predator) for food

Sloth bear: a coarse-haired, long-snouted bear, Ursus ursinus, of India and Indochina

Specialized: to be adapted to a special function or environment

Spectacled bear: a short-faced black bear, Tremarctos ornatus, found in South America (also known as the Andean bear)

Survive/Survival: using adaptations to continue to live

Thermoregulation: the ability of an organism to be able to keep its body temperature within certainconsistent parameters

Threatened: to indicate impending endangerment

Tracking: to follow or pursue the track, traces, or footprints of an animal

Tundra: a habitat referring to the vast, nearly level, treeless plains of the Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America

Vertebrate: having a backbone or spinal column

Warm-blooded: designating or pertaining to animals whose blood temperature ranges from the freezing point upward, in accordance with the temperature of the surrounding medium

Winter sleep: When the temperature outside drops, many bears stay warm by making a small den in the snow banks and sleep.

Notes

PANTONE 287 PANTONE 312

SAN DIEGO ZOOPhone 619.231.1515

Fax 619.744.3316www.sandiegozoo.org