Oceans week 2 - Salinity and the Arctic ocean

Our second week of ocean studies focussed on looking at the salt levels in the ocean:- we looked at what made the oceans salty, how salt water is heavier than fresh water (the dyed salt water sinks when added to fresh water - our control was to add dyed fresh water to a second cup)

and we also replicated the salt levels in the dead sea (just over 30% salts which works out at 340g of salt per litre of water) which led to a great game of  'what can we make float that normally sinks' - yes I know that game needs a new name, any suggestions?

We did get sidetracked by the snow so decided to use it to our advantage by studying the Arctic ocean and the wildlife found there - this naturally led to a discussion on how the animals keep warm - cue the lard activity, Rose was most impressed that the lard kept her hand warm in the snow : ) 

This also led to a quick study of the poles and what makes them different - land under ice in the Antarctic compared to just floating ice in the Arctic.