W is for Whale {Measuring Activities!}
Did you know that the longest animal to ever live on the Earth (longer even than the dinosaurs!) is the blue whale? Yep...today, W is for Whale!
I'm sharing some fun blue whale measuring activities that you can do with your kids! These help reinforce math skills like counting and science processing skills (using a ruler or other measuring tool). I used them with our Under the Sea theme, but you can do them whenever you feel like it. They go great with an Ocean Theme or Summer Theme, but they are also fun on their own.
And, as an extra bonus: these measuring activities take NO preparation! Unless you count the 30 seconds it takes you to grab some rulers, a measuring tape, and/or sidewalk chalk...then it requires about 30 seconds of prep time. :)
Activity #1: How big is a blue whale? The biggest blue whale ever recorded was about 108 feet long! Mark a "starting spot" with your sidwalk chalk on the sidewalk and start measuring 108 feet. Use either a 1-foot ruler and practice counting to 100 or use a tape measure and practice reading the numbers! Mark the end of the tail with sidewalk chalk. Place a person at each end and take a picture!
Activity #2: How big is the blue whale's eye? A blue whale's eye is about 5-6 inches in diameter. Use a ruler to find out how big this is, and then find something close to this size to place in the whale's "head" area. This may seem like small eyes for such a big animal, but whales do not use their sense of sight as much as their sense of hearing. Their "small" eyes work just fine for their needs!
Activity #3: How big is the blue whale's blow hole? The blue whale's blow hole can be 20 inches in diameter. The whale uses it like a nose. Use a ruler to find out how big the blow hole is and draw it on the top of the whale "head" with sidewalk chalk. Can you fit through it?
Activity #4: How wide is the blue whale's tail? The blue whale's tail is about 25 feet wide. Measure 25 feet with your rulers! If you have room, draw this with the chalk too! (Or, if you have something like a soccer net that you could use to represent the tail, use it!)
Activity #5: How big is a blue whale's heart? A blue whale's heart is about the same size as a small car (like a VW beetle). Go for a walk and see if you can find a "whale heart" car!
Activity #6: How big are a blue whale's arteries? Some of the arteries in a blue whale are 9 inches in diameter. A baby could easily crawl through them! Can you? Draw a line 4-5 feet long in the middle of your whale representing an artery. Measure 9 inches across in 3-4 spots and draw the other side of the artery, so you now have a tube drawn that is 9 inches across and about 4-5 feet long. Can you fit through it? Review that arteries carry blood throughout the body, and discuss why a whale would need such big arteries. By comparison, the biggest arteries in a person are about the width of 1-2 fingers.
Amazon Affiliate Links:
For more fun measuring activities, check out these learning ideas:
I'm sharing some fun blue whale measuring activities that you can do with your kids! These help reinforce math skills like counting and science processing skills (using a ruler or other measuring tool). I used them with our Under the Sea theme, but you can do them whenever you feel like it. They go great with an Ocean Theme or Summer Theme, but they are also fun on their own.
And, as an extra bonus: these measuring activities take NO preparation! Unless you count the 30 seconds it takes you to grab some rulers, a measuring tape, and/or sidewalk chalk...then it requires about 30 seconds of prep time. :)
Activity #1: How big is a blue whale? The biggest blue whale ever recorded was about 108 feet long! Mark a "starting spot" with your sidwalk chalk on the sidewalk and start measuring 108 feet. Use either a 1-foot ruler and practice counting to 100 or use a tape measure and practice reading the numbers! Mark the end of the tail with sidewalk chalk. Place a person at each end and take a picture!
Activity #2: How big is the blue whale's eye? A blue whale's eye is about 5-6 inches in diameter. Use a ruler to find out how big this is, and then find something close to this size to place in the whale's "head" area. This may seem like small eyes for such a big animal, but whales do not use their sense of sight as much as their sense of hearing. Their "small" eyes work just fine for their needs!
Activity #3: How big is the blue whale's blow hole? The blue whale's blow hole can be 20 inches in diameter. The whale uses it like a nose. Use a ruler to find out how big the blow hole is and draw it on the top of the whale "head" with sidewalk chalk. Can you fit through it?
Activity #4: How wide is the blue whale's tail? The blue whale's tail is about 25 feet wide. Measure 25 feet with your rulers! If you have room, draw this with the chalk too! (Or, if you have something like a soccer net that you could use to represent the tail, use it!)
Activity #6: How big are a blue whale's arteries? Some of the arteries in a blue whale are 9 inches in diameter. A baby could easily crawl through them! Can you? Draw a line 4-5 feet long in the middle of your whale representing an artery. Measure 9 inches across in 3-4 spots and draw the other side of the artery, so you now have a tube drawn that is 9 inches across and about 4-5 feet long. Can you fit through it? Review that arteries carry blood throughout the body, and discuss why a whale would need such big arteries. By comparison, the biggest arteries in a person are about the width of 1-2 fingers.
Amazon Affiliate Links:
For more fun measuring activities, check out these learning ideas:
W is for Whale {Measuring Activities} from Preschool Powol Packets
Watermelon Seed Spitting Measurement from Schooling a Monkey
Measuring Distance with Water Guns from Teach me Mommy
Measuring and Estimating with Ribbons from Mum in the Madhouse
Just How Big Were the Dinosaurs? from Bambini Travel
Measuring Toys from Play & Learn Every Day
Grow a Duck Weighing Activity from Something 2 Offer
I may share at any of these parties!
Never miss another post again! Sign up for our weekly updates newsletter and get links to all our posts once a week in your inbox! Sign up here!! 
Comments