SHORT DISCOVERY-BASED STEM EXPERIENCES STEM gems …

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AFTERSCHOOL ASSOCIATION

PENGUINS

SHORT DISCOVERY-BASED STEM EXPERIENCES

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IDEASbigEMBRACE THE WINTER COLD WITH THIS STEM GEM AND SPEND TIME WITH SOME FUN ANIMALS THAT LOVE THE COLD, PENGUINS.

From their warm personalities to their formal black-tie coloring, penguins have managed to capture our imaginations and

they have taken center stage in books and movies of popular culture. In this activity, young people will be encouraged to

exercise their literacy skills and get crafty as they explore the biology and adaptations that make penguins special.

DO ALL PENGUINS LOVE THE COLD?

Actually, only a few penguin species enjoy the cold and live on ice. The rest prefer a much warmer climate. There are over

17 species of penguin. Even though all penguins live in the southern hemisphere, only two species actually live on the

frigid cold Antarctic (South Pole) coastline. Penguins are found on the coasts of Australia, New Zealand, the southern tip of

South Africa, South America, and even the Galapagos Islands. The Galapagos Islands sit on the equator and experience an

average temperature of around 73 degrees Fahrenheit; a lot warmer than the minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit temperature of

Antarctica. Only larger penguin species enjoy colder climates, where their larger bodies protect them and keep them warm.

Antarctica is home to the largest species of penguin, the emperor penguin. Emperor penguins can weigh up to 58 pounds

and grow 52 inches tall, much larger than the aptly named little penguin, which only grows to 2 pounds and 13 inches tall.

Penguins rely on oily feathers to trap a layer of warm air next to their skin. The air serves as insulation, especially when they

start generating muscular heat by swimming around. All penguins spend several hours a day preening, or caring for their

feathers. Keeping their feathers in tip-top condition ensures that they stay waterproof and keeps the penguins warm.

CAN PENGUINS FLY?

Penguins cannot fly. They do not possess the wings and hollow bones of their sky-bound cousins. Instead, penguins are

adapted to be fantastic underwater flyers, or swimmers. They are streamlined like a torpedo, they have dense solid bones

that help them sink, and instead of wings they have powerful f lippers to propel them through the water. Penguins are

powerful, graceful swimmers. The fastest penguins are able to swim up to 22 mph. Penguin’s cannot breathe under water.

They must breathe air and hold their breath while diving to chase and catch fish, only pausing to soar to the surface to

catch a breath of air before diving to the chase once more. Emperor penguins are able to hold their breath for 22 minutes

and can dive to a depth of over 1800 feet. On average, penguins spend about 75% of their lives in the water diving down to

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BIG IDEAS (continued...)

60 feet to catch fish. Penguins are totally at home in the water and are one of the few

animals that are able to drink seawater. In fact, penguins swallow a lot of seawater while

hunting for fish with their mouths open. All penguins have special glands behind their

eyes to filter the saltwater from their blood stream. Penguins excrete this excess salt

through their beaks, or by sneezing.

WHY ARE PENGUINS SO FORMAL?

Penguins have been enshrined in books, songs, and movies. Part of our love and joy for

penguins stems from their rather formal tuxedo coloring. A penguin’s coloring is known

as counter shading. It can seem out of place on land, but in the water their dark backs

camouflage them in the dark water from anything above looking down on them. Their

light fronts blend with the bright sky and snow to camouflage them from anything below

them looking up. One of the other things that endear us to penguins is their friendly,

social nature. They are friendly and inquisitive when humans visit because they do not

have land predators. They live in large groups called colonies and most species will

mate with only one partner for life. An emperor penguin mum will leave to hunt after she

has laid an egg and it is up to dad to care for the egg until it hatches.

NEXT GENERATION science standardsThe Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are a comprehensive guide for K-12 STEM science content standards

created by a partnership of 26 states, the National Research Council, the National Science Teachers Association, and the

American Association for the Advancement of Science. The Framework lays out the STEM skills a young person should have

as they move though the K-12 school system. THE FRAMEWORK IS ORGANIZED INTO THREE MAIN AREAS.

• Science and Engineering Practices: These are essential skills needed by important scientists and engineers.

• Disciplinary Core Ideas: These are the core ideas that should be learned in Physical Science (PS), Life Science (LS),

Earth and Space Science (ESS), and Engineering (ETS).

• Crosscutting Concepts: Seven key concepts that have common applications across all of science and engineering.

NAA STEM Gems are designed to integrate and support the Next Generation Science Standards. More information and all

the standards can be found at http://www.nextgenscience.org/

NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS FOR THIS STEM GEM

SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PRACTICES

Developing and using models

Obtaining, evaluating, and

communicating information

DISCIPLINARY CORE IDEAS

LS2 Ecosystems: Interactions,

Energy, and Dynamics

LS3 Heredity: Inheritance and

Variation of Traits

CROSSCUTTING

CONCEPTS

Patterns

Structure and function

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SCIENCEtalk

ADAPTATION A specialization in an organism or species that allows it to become

better suited to its environment.

ANTARCTICA The southernmost continent and site of the South Pole.

HABITAT The natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism.

PENGUIN Penguins are a group of aquatic, f lightless birds that live exclusively in

the Southern Hemisphere.

What kind of bird has feathers but cannot fly?

Young people’s choice.

What facts do you know about penguins?

Young people’s choice.

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engage

what YOU WILL NEED

Black, white and orange or yellow

pipe cleaners

Small, wiggle/googly eyes

Wire cutters or old scissors

Penguin picture books

(source from the library)

Penguin pictures (source from the internet)

Penguin facts (source from the internet)

Pencils

Glue

! Optional:

Baking soda or salt

Glitter

Sandwich-size containers or

small plates

Rocks

Moss

Various craft supplies to

build scenery

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1. Gather materials.

2. Use wire cutters or old scissors

to cut pipe cleaners according

to the measurements provided

below. Each young person

will need the following:

• One black pipe cleaner

• One 3-inch piece of black

pipe cleaner

• One 3-inch piece of white

pipe cleaner

• One 3-inch piece of orange

or yellow pipe cleaner

beforeYOU BEGIN&

What makes penguins special?

Young people’s choice.

Where do penguins live?

Young people’s choice.

?

?

Optional:

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EXPLORE & EXPERIMENT

Begin the activity with younger children by sharing library books and other reference materials about penguins and

discussing what makes penguins special. Focus on where penguins live, their shape and color, what they eat, their

swimming ability and their adaptations. Invite the group to design and draw a penguin fact poster to display when

completed.

Begin the activity with older children by splitting them into small group research teams. Assign each team a specific topic

or species of penguin to research. Topics may include: What do penguins eat? Where do penguins live? What makes

penguins good swimmers? What advantages does a penguin’s coloring provide? Have each group create a poster of

their f indings and report to the whole group.

Allow young people adequate time to research and share their penguin facts and to develop an understanding about

what makes penguins unique and special.

Tell young people they are going to make a penguin buddy to take home.

Have each young person collect one black pipe cleaner, one 3-inch piece of black pipe cleaner, one 3-inch piece of

white pipe cleaner, and one 3-inch piece of orange or yellow pipe cleaner.

Instruct young people to gather a pencil and twist the black pipe cleaner around the pencil to form a coil. Explain that this

will form the body of the penguin.

Have young people fold the white pipe cleaner in half and bend the ends into a square angle.

Instruct young people to slide one end of the white pipe cleaner into the bottom coil of the body and the other end into the

second coil from the top. This will form the penguin’s distinct white front.

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EXPLORE & EXPERIMENT (continued...)

Next, invite young people to fold one end of the orange pipe cleaner into a small letter “M” to form penguin feet. Starting at

the bottom of the penguin body, have them thread the other end of the orange pipe cleaner through the center of the

coil, making the end poke out under the last coil in the body of the penguin.

Have young people fold the end of the orange pipe cleaner at the top of the penguin body into a V shape to form the beak.

Invite young people to fold the 3-inch piece of black pipe cleaner into a “V” and trap the pipe cleaner into a coil on the

back of the penguin body to form flippers.

Have young people gather glue and googly eyes and glue two eyes to the top coil of the penguin body.

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Encourage young people to adjust the feet of the penguins so they stand on their own.

Quiz young people on penguin facts and adaptations.

Optional: Penguin Habitats

Ask the group to define habitat.

Explain that a habitat is where an animal lives. Animals will adapt to the environment they call home.

Have young people think of an animal and describe its habitat.

Encourage young people to think of the type of place and habitat their penguin buddies live. For example, emperor penguins

live on the coast of Antarctica. This is a very cold and desolate place. Over time, emperor penguins have adapted to living

very successfully in Antarctica. They have big bodies that can store a large insulating layer of fat to keep warm. They have

four layers of scale, like thick, oily feathers, that keep them dry and warm in the freezing ocean. They have small bills and

flippers to conserve heat and even special nasal chambers to minimize the heat lost when breathing out. Emperor penguins

have specifically adapted to traveling on ice by using the strong claws on their feet to help grip the surface as they shuffle

along. They are also able to slide on their sleek bellies while pushing with their feet. Emperor penguins are well suited to icy

Antarctica and this provides them with access to large amounts of fish and a safe home free of predators.

Invite the group to make a model of a habitat for their penguins. Encourage them to use the information they have gained

from their research of a particular penguin species or to create a new type of penguin and design its perfect home.

Have young people gather a small plate or sandwich-size container and craft materials and begin creating their habitats. An example of

a model of the Antarctic habitat of the emperor penguin is to mix baking soda with a little glitter to create iridescent snow.

When they have completed their habitats, ask young people to explain them and why their penguins are well adapted to live there.

EXPLORE & EXPERIMENT (continued...)

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make THE CONNECTIONPenguins’ popularity has made them a

widespread subject for children’s books. Find

a story about penguins and share it with young

people. Contrast and compare how the book

aligns with or veers away from the biology of

penguins.

• My Penguin Osbert by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

• A Penguin Story by Antoinette Portis

• The Emperor’s Egg by Martin Jenkins

• Mr. Poppers Penguins by Richard Atwater and

Florence Atwater

• Penguin and the Cupcake by Ashley Spires

• Little Penguin: The Emperor of Antarctica by

Jonathan London

• Penguin in Peril by Helen Hancock

• If You Were a Penguin by Wendell and Florence

Minor

• And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson

and Peter Parnell

(This is a true story of two male penguins, Roy

and Silo, in New York’s Central Park Zoo who

grow extremely close to each other. One day, the

zookeepers watch them trying to hatch a rock

that looks like an egg, so the keepers bring them

an egg from a female penguin who is unable to

hatch both its eggs. Roy and Silo take care of

the egg together and hatch a penguin named

Tango. This is a true story that can be considered

controversial; however, it is age appropriate,

fun to read, and young people generally do not

realize there’s anything unusual about the story.

At its core, this great book is about tolerance and

accepting others who are dif ferent.)

EXTEND& EVALUATE

Have young people consider what it would be like to have

a penguin as a pet. Would it be fun? What would be some

of the challenges? How would they make sure that their

pet penguins were happy? Have young people write a short

story or poem about their pet penguins. Challenge them to

include some of the penguin adaptations and biology that

they have learned during this activity.

© National AfterSchool Association 2017