echoesof.science · Ages 6–7
Life in the desert
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echoesof.science/school/deserts/ages-6-7/
Read
A desert is a very dry place where it hardly ever rains.
Some deserts are hot and some are cold! The biggest deserts of all are the icy lands at the top and bottom of the Earth. The biggest hot desert is the Sahara in Africa.
Not all deserts are sandy. Many deserts are covered with rocks and stones, with a few plants here and there.
In a hot desert the day can be very hot, but the night gets cold. The dry air lets the heat escape into the sky.
Experiment: Leaf or cactus: which stays wet longer?
- Put each paper towel on a plate.
- Wet both towels with the same number of spoons of water.
- Leave one towel open and flat. This is a big, thin leaf.
- Roll the other towel up into a tight, fat tube. This is a cactus.
- Put both plates in the same sunny spot. Guess: which one will dry first?
- Feel both towels after 2 hours. Which one is still wet?
| Towel | Still wet after 2 hours? |
|---|---|
| Flat 'leaf' | My guess |
| Rolled 'cactus' | My guess |
Questions
Draw a desert with a cactus and one animal. Show how the animal keeps cool.
🍎Are all deserts sandy?
yes / no
Which towel stayed wet longer, the flat one or the rolled one?
Sources for every fact on this sheet: echoesof.science/school/deserts/sources/