You must have heard about oil spills on the news, you’ve also read about the cleanup process in the newspaper but did you know you could learn about ocean pollution right at your own home? You can easily demonstrate this calamitous event to your kids with an easy oil spill experiment. This easy and interesting activity will help to make kids aware of the issues that surround environmental clean-up. Your kids can create their own oil spill, try various methods for cleaning it up, and then discuss the benefits of each method in terms of effectiveness and expense. You may ask them to put themselves in the shoes of an environmental engineer and an oil company owner who is responsible for the clean-up. The major objective of this learning activity is to increase understanding of an oil spill disaster and environmental outcomes.
About Oil Spill Clean Up Activity
An oil spill is a kind of pollution usually found in a marine ecosystem. Though, oil spills can occur on land too. An oil spill often occurs when oil leaks or spills into the water. We’ve all heard the devastating news of oil-soaked birds and volunteers trying to clean up the mess. In some cases, animals are killed by trying to lick off the oil. Although it’s a sad event, it’s necessary to understand why this phenomenon occurs.
You may start the activity by sharing information about historical oil spills, like the recent Russian oil spill in the Arctic circle. You can show them images of the animals affected and how the oil affected the landscape. After showing students how damaging these disasters are, have them try to clean up their own “accidental” oil spill with this hands-on activity.
The oil spill activity might get a bit messy but then again oil spills are a messy affair too! Use this oil spill experiment with your kids to realize them the importance of caring for our natural resources. In the oil spill activity, your kid will outline the results of applying water, oil, and soap to a feather.
Supplies Required For The Oil Spill Clean Up Activity
- 2 Tin Pans
- Water
- Vegetable Oil
- Dish Soap
- Medicine Dropper
- Spoon
- Paper Towels
- Cotton Balls
Steps Involved In The Oil Spill Clean Up Activity
Step 1: Firstly, fill the tin pan/ tray half full of water.
Step 2: Now, pour oil into the water.
Step 3: You may try many ways to clean up the oil. You can use the cotton balls, paper towels, spoon, or medicine dropper to scoop out the oil.
Step 4: Finally, you can try using the Dish Soap and observe what happens. You can also set a timer and see how much oil is recollected at the end of the given time.
Save Our Oceans!
Oil spills are toxic to marine birds and mammals as well as fish and shellfish. Oil coats the feathers and fur of marine life which leaves them receptive to hypothermia because their fur or feathers cannot shield them from the atmosphere. Oil spills are the outcomes of human mistakes and negligence. Usually, oil spills occur when ships transporting large oil tanks sink in the ocean, causing the oil to leak out of its containers and pollute the ocean, killing thousands of marine creatures. When this occurs, people should take charge and take action to clean up the ocean to lessen its destructive effects on marine life. Oil spill cleanups may cost a lot and may also take a long time before the oil is removed from the ocean. But it is essential to save our marine lives and ecosystem from the detrimental effects of oil spills.
