Another busy week here in Lower Elementary! This week Karen introduced an impressionistic lesson about radiant and passive heat, the Earth’s insulation. Radiant heat comes from something that is burning, and passive comes from something that has collected the heat from something that is burning. For example, the rays of the sun heat the Earth, but they do not heat the atmosphere very much. The atmosphere is heated by the collected heat of the Earth.

The children got to experience this first hand by first heating up a spoon and then feeling the heat radiate off of it. Just like the Earth, it gives off its heat and warms the atmosphere. This heat is not as strong as the direct rays of the sun, but the atmosphere acts like a blanket, and holds the heat in, just like the spoon. This is called the greenhouse effect.

They also enjoyed learning about the temperature of the air and the amount of moisture the air can hold. As the air goes up the side of a mountain, it cools, and is forced to release its moisture.

To illustrate this idea, we boiled water in a small pan and then briefly covered the pan with a cool glass bowl. The children observed water droplets quickly appearing on the bowl because the coolness of the bowl allows the air to release its moisture.