Kindergarten scientists study the Arctic and Antarctica. In this lab, we traveled to the Arctic and looked at igloos built by the Inuits, native people of the Arctic. Inuits live in homes similar to ours today, but igloos are still used for hunting or fishing trips.

I tasked my engineers to construct new buildings of “ice and snow” with Styrofoam. I witnessed problem solving, creativity, and collaboration as they built. They worked on balancing their structures and incorporating three dimensional shapes. Styrofoam allows little hands to build without the use of tape or glue. What a fun way to develop fine motor skills and eye/hand coordination too. We learned that Styrofoam is not good for the environment because it doesn’t decompose, so this is one way to reuse it. We used Arctic animals, but there were no penguins because penguins do not live in the Arctic.