What is insulation?

The word insulation is used to describe materials used to create barriers for transmission of electricity, heat, moisture, chock, sound and radiation.

In this activity, children can learn about creating an insulated cup that will keep beverages colder for longer than a regular cup.

Materials 

• The engineering design process template
• 5* 16 oz plastic cups: 2 cups to design the insulated cup, 1 cup for a control, and 2 cups to hold water in the refrigerator
• 4 kinds of household materials  (example: bubble wrap, cotton balls, newspaper, aluminum foil) that will be used as insulators.
• Tap water
• Refrigerator
• Thermometer

Instructions

• Fill up 2 of the cups with water and place them in the refrigerator
• Use the design engineering process to design a cup that will keep beverages colder for longer than a regular cup. Begin by brainstorming ,
• How to structure the cups? Create several design plans through drawing with detailed descriptions.
• To find the best insulators for the cup ,  Try different models using the  different household /insulation materials
• Test the  models
• Analyze the results