Today, we met the penguin species we’ll be focusing on. We’ve created a video with the help of the Woodland Park Zoo to introduce these awesome animals. Before we start, I asked students to write down some of the things they already know about penguins.

The video challenges some common assumptions about penguins. Humboldt penguins prefer warmer weather and colder water and live on the western coast of South America. Their habitat is getting too warm, though, and that’s causing them to choose between overheating themselves, or cooling off in the water and leaving their eggs unprotected.

Tomorrow, students will brainstorm some potential shelter ideas, see what materials they’ll have access to, and figure out who they want to work with.