hcho15.html

		My mom took me to a football game a Kinetic City Stadium. We had seats in a section filled with wooden benches. The air was cold, but we were pretty comfortable.
	My mom told me that wood is a good insulator, which means that heat doesn't flow through it easily.		So when you sit on wood, most of the heat in your body stays in your body, and you stay warm.
	I went to say hello to a friend in a different section with metal bleachers. Man, was it COLD sitting there!		Metal is a good conductor. That means heat travels through it easily. So your body heat goes right into the bench and away from you. I'm glad I didn't sit there the whole game!

*You can see how heat travels by doing this cool* experiment. Try to keep an ice cube from melting!**


	2 paper cups
	Some ice cubes
	Construction paper
	Notebook paper
	Plastic wrap
	Scraps of cloth
	Glue or tape
	Scissors

	Take a plastic or paper cup. To insulate it, use materials such as paper, cardboard, plastic wrap, and cloth. Try any combination of things. Use tape or glue to hold the materials in place.
	Tear a small piece of plastic wrap to cover the top of the cup.
	Then take two ice cubes that are the same size. Put one in your insulated cup and cover it. Take the other and put it on a plate or in a bowl. wait a few minutes to see what happens.
	Compare the ice cube in your insulated cup with the other ice cube. Which one is melting faster?

	Now have a melting contest. Get a couple of friends and have each person make an insulated cup. Make sure the ice cubes are all about the same size. Then see who can make their ice cube melt the slowest!

*Whose insulated cup worked the best?* *What kind of material did he or she use?* *Why do you think that material works as a good insulator?* *Tell us all about it!*

Heat always flows from hot to cold places. In the case of a cup with ice in it, heat will flow from the cup and the air around it to the ice cube. Insulating materials, and the cup itself, slow the flow of heat to the ice cube.

Wearing layers of clothing, like the big parka and sweater I wore to that football game, helps insulate your body. The layers of fabric trap your body heat and slow the flow of it away from your body. Layers work the best because they trap air, and a layer of air is a great insulator, too!