Search

Freeze Frame Activity

Shelly Kleinpeter

Insulation plays an important role in maintaining the energy efficiency of your home. Effective insulation keeps your home warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, helping to maintain a comfortable indoor environment. Proper insulation not only lowers energy bills by reducing the need for heating and cooling, but it also decreases the strain on HVAC systems, which could help your equipment last longer. Selecting the right type of insulation is essential to maximizing these benefits. Each home has unique and specific energy needs, and the best insulation for one home might not suit another.  Whether it's fiberglass, foam, or cellulose, choosing the right insulation material and proper installation method ensures long-term savings and comfort.  

Objectives:

  • Youth will be able to understand the concepts of energy efficiency and biomimicry.
  • Youth will be able to identify different types of housing insulation and their benefits for the home.
  • Youth will be able to identify how different types of animals stay warm in the winter.
  • Youth will be able to build a nature inspired structure that can slow the melting of an ice cube.

Materials:

  • Recyclable materials, examples include cardboard and bubble wrap
  • Styrofoam
  • Masking tape
  • Ice cubes

Directions:

*Background, objectives and, direction steps 2-5 are same for this activity. No need to repeat them if you have already completed Activity 1. If you aren’t doing Activity 1, then complete steps 2-5 above.

  1. Explain to students that they will use what they have learned about insulation and biomimicry apply it to a hands-on challenge.
  1. Tell students that they will be building a structure that can slow the melting of an ice cube. This structure should mimic what they learned about animals during winter and housing insulation.
  1. Present materials: sheets of cardboard, bubble wrap, Styrofoam, various recyclable materials, and masking tape.
  1. Students must work as a team. They will have 5 minutes to brainstorm and sketch their design. They will have 20 minutes to build the structure.
  1. Once the time has elapsed, students will add an ice cube to their structures and bring them outside to test.
  1. After about 10- 20 minutes, check the students’ structures and determine success. Have a discussion of why some structures may have been more successful than others.
3/24/2025 7:35:24 PM
Rate This Article:

Have a question or comment about the information on this page?

Innovate . Educate . Improve Lives

The LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture

Top