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Boot Hop

In this fun group exploration, children compare feeling wet and dry, and experience the sensory effects of evaporation.

Water clings to bare feet (or feet in socks) very well, but does not cling to rainboots. When water clinging to your feet evaporates, your feet get pretty cold!

Wet and Dry printable guide.

This activity was developed and tested with preschool and kindergarten educators as part of Science World's Big Science For Little Hands program. 

Objectives

  • Compare the physical feeling of being wet and dry.

  • Experience the sensory effects of water evaporation.

Materials

  • Per Class or Group:
    a wading pool with a few centimetres of water in it
    a tarp or suitable outdoor space
    1 boot per child
    a medium-sized electric fan

Key Questions

  • What did your foot wearing the rainboot feel like in the water? What about your bare foot?
  • What did your foot wearing the rainboot feel like when you stood in front of the fan? What about your bare foot?

What To Do

Each child puts on one boot and keeps one foot bare (no socks!). You may wish to demonstrate this first, for clarification and for fun.

Give each child a chance to walk in the water, then stand in front of the fan. It can be fun to do this in a ‘parade’, moving together in a circle, while singing a song and/or playing music.

For safety, keep the fan on the opposite side of the room from the pool, and make a path between the pool and fan with bathmats or non-slip tile.

 

Extensions

  • Sing the "Hokey-Pokey" and "put your boot foot in" and "your boot foot out"!

About the sticker

Survivors

Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

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Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

About the sticker

Comet Crisp

Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

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Artist: Michelle Yong

Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

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Artist: Michelle Yong

Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

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Artist: Michelle Yong

Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

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Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.

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Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.

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Time-Travel T-Rex

Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.