The Snowman's Overcoat and Concept Cartoons.

I subscribe to emails from the National STEM Centre in York which I'd recommend to you. (A visit is also worthwhile on one of their Saturday morning open days). In the latest email it mentioned the Snowman's  Overcoat. I've used a version of this with children in the past, based on Concept Cartoons* which, if you haven't come across, are well worth exploring. I also used to do Huddling Penguins as an alternative but, although I did the Penguins with data-loggers, I never got round to properly doing the Snowman investigation in that way. So I've now got two temperature sensors in water in the freezer. I'll then wrap one in bubble wrap (always around at Christmas) and put the other in a plastic bag. I'll use a third probe to measure ambient temperature.

Additional activity based on concept cartoons (ref below**)

I wish I was doing this with children and not pottering at home. 
I don't make New Year's resolutions but I promise to try get data-loggers used more in schools in 2013.

* Concept Cartoons in Science Education by S. Naylor and B. Keogh (2000) Millgate House Publishers ISBN 0 9527506 2 7
** The Snowman's Overcoat and other Science questions by S. Naylor and B. Keogh. Illustrated by Ged Mitchell.(More detail to follow) One of  series of four (?) books.