Hey there! It’s Esther, and where I live, winter means lots of snow. Snow can make it tricky to get around, but it also brings fun new ways to play, like sledding down a big hill at the park near my house. Today, we’re going to talk about penguins and racing them! Let’s dive in!
Benjamin asked a super cool question: Could a kid win a race against a penguin? Well, it depends! There are many kinds of penguins, like the big king penguins and the small Galapagos penguins. And where you race matters too! Penguins are super fast swimmers, so if you race in water, they’d probably win. But on land, like in your school gym, you might have a chance because penguins waddle slowly.
Now, imagine racing in Antarctica, where emperor penguins live. These penguins are as big as a six or seven-year-old kid! At the start of the race, you might see the penguin scooting on its belly instead of waddling. This helps them move faster on the snow. But when you try to run, you might sink into the soft snow, making it hard to keep up. So, the penguin might win!
Have you ever wondered why penguins don’t sink in the snow like we do? It’s not just about how heavy they are. When penguins walk, they sometimes sink, but when they slide on their bellies, they stay on top. This is because their belly spreads out their weight over more snowflakes, just like how it’s easier to hold something heavy with more friends helping you.
If you want to race a penguin without sinking, you can use some cool inventions! People have made things like sleds, skis, and snowshoes to help us move on snow. Snowshoes spread out your weight, just like a penguin’s belly, so you don’t sink as much. There are even special wheelchairs and trucks with big tires for snow!
For your next penguin race, you could use snowshoes, a sled, or maybe invent something new to help you move on snow. Keep thinking and exploring!
Thanks to Benjamin for the awesome question! We’ll be back with more fun topics soon. In the meantime, you can help us choose what to explore next. Would you like to learn about how polar animals stay warm, why bears sleep in winter, or if there’s a pole at the North Pole? Let us know what you’re curious about!
Remember, there are mysteries all around us. Stay curious and see you soon!
Penguin Waddle Race: Organize a fun race with your friends or family where everyone has to waddle like a penguin. Try to race on different surfaces like grass, carpet, or a smooth floor. Notice how the surface changes how you move. After the race, discuss which surface was easiest and why you think penguins might prefer sliding on their bellies on snow.
Snowshoe Experiment: Create your own “snowshoes” using cardboard and string. Cut out large oval shapes from the cardboard and attach them to your feet with string. Try walking on a soft surface like a bed or a pile of pillows. Compare how it feels to walk with and without your homemade snowshoes. Talk about how spreading your weight helps you stay on top, just like a penguin’s belly on snow.
Design Your Own Snow Gear: Imagine you are an inventor like Esther mentioned. Draw a picture of a new invention that could help you move on snow without sinking. Think about what materials you would use and how it would work. Share your drawing with a friend or family member and explain your invention. Discuss how it might help you race a penguin!
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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(screen ringing) – Hey, it’s Esther. Where I live, winter brings lots of snow. It can be harder getting around, but the snow also creates some new ways to get moving. There’s a state park near me with a steep hill of sand. When there’s snow, it becomes an amazing spot for sledding. Someone named Benjamin has a question about an animal that lives somewhere snowy. Let’s call Benjamin now. (screen ringing) – Hi, Esther. – Hi, Benjamin. – I have a question. Could a kid win a race against a penguin? – That’s such a great question that it makes me think of more questions. First, which kind of penguin would you race? There are big king penguins, little Galapagos penguins, and more than a dozen other kinds. Second, where would you race? If you race in the water, well, you’d probably lose. Penguins are really fast swimmers. But if you race in your school gym, you’d probably win. Penguins waddle along much more slowly on land.
So let’s say you race on a penguin’s home turf, like Antarctica, where there’s snow on the ground all year round. Antarctica is home to emperor penguins, the Earth’s largest penguins. They can grow to about the size of a six or seven-year-old kid. Imagine this: You and the emperor penguin are at the starting line. Just as you hear, “Go,” you look over and see this. It’s not waddling. It’s scooting on its belly and it’s surprisingly speedy. Meanwhile, you charge ahead and sink into the soft snow. You try to speed up, but moving through the snow really slows you down. I can’t say for sure who’s gonna win, but chances are it’s the emperor penguin.
Now, maybe you already knew that penguins sometimes move on their bellies. It’s only a little faster than waddling, but it’s an easier way to get around. See how they stretch out and paddle with their feet? It’s almost like they’re swimming on top of the snow. But why did you sink in the snow and the penguin didn’t? I’m curious, how do you think the penguin stays on top of the snow instead of sinking? Now would be a good time to pause the video and discuss.
Okay, you ready? Now, I don’t know how you answered, but maybe you guessed it has something to do with how heavy or how light penguins are. That makes sense. If you put a heavy bowling ball and a light balloon on the snow, the bowling ball would sink deeper. So maybe the penguin didn’t sink because it weighed less. But there’s something else going on here. If you watched emperor penguins for a while, you’d notice that sometimes a penguin will be waddling along when it starts to sink down in soft snow, so it switches to its belly and starts scooting. Only now, it’s not sinking.
Why does the penguin sink on its feet and not on its belly? It’s the same penguin with the same weight and this weight is always pressing down on the snow whether it walks or scoots. Well, take a look at how much snow is under its feet and how much is under its belly. See how its belly spreads out over more snow? Imagine if we could see all the tiny snowflakes there. We’d see more snowflakes under its belly and fewer snowflakes under its feet.
Think about this: If you had to hold up something heavy, it would be easier to do with the help of a friend, and it would be much easier with a group of friends. The more people there are, the less weight each friend has to hold. That’s what’s going on with the snowflakes. There are fewer snowflakes holding up the penguin as it walks. The weight pressing down is too much to hold up, so they get squished down and the penguin sinks. But when the penguin scoots on its belly, there are more snowflakes to hold it up. The weight pressing down is spread out over all the snowflakes and each one has less to hold up, so the penguin stays on top of the snow.
Now, let’s say you were going to race the penguin again and this time instead of sinking, you want to race on top of the snow. How would you do it? Well, there are inventions that could help you. People have created ways to move on snow without sinking down. Maybe you can think of some, like sleds or skis or these. These are snowshoes. Watch what happens when you attach them to boots. Here’s someone with snowshoes. And here they are without. See how deep they sink? It looks much easier to walk with snowshoes and maybe you’ve already guessed why. Did you notice how the snowshoes spread out over more snowflakes? They spread out weight so the snow can hold you up. You sink less, just like the penguin on its belly.
And check out this wheelchair designed for snow. And this truck used in Antarctica. Those are some massive tires. Extra big tires are another way to spread out weight so people sink less and can move more easily on snow. So for your next penguin race, you could use snowshoes or a sled or maybe a new invention you create for moving on top of snow. That’s all for this week’s question. Thanks, Benjamin, for asking it. Now, we’ll be back with new episodes in January, but in the meantime, here are some older questions from the question jar. You can vote on which one you think we should send out next week. You can choose from how do polar animals survive the cold? Why do bears hibernate? Or is there a pole at the North Pole? So submit your vote when the video is over. We want to hear from all of you watching. There are mysteries all around us. Stay curious and see you soon.
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Let me know if you need any further modifications!
