Compressed styrofoam cups!

In the distant lesson with Grade 3 students in Watkins Glen Elementary School, NY one of the subjects that we talked about was the notion of pressure in deep ocean. To demonstrate the impact of high pressure in deep water, I promised students to make compressed styrofoam cups in deep ocean. I wrote all the names of the students in two classes and painted a killer whale (orca) for them. The two styrofoam cups stayed in 2660 meters for 40 hours. It really was a long dive in such a depth and I was a bit worried about the cups, what if they would shrink too much that nothing on the cup will be readable anymore. We finally took ROPOS on deck with the cups. I was so happy to see them; they both turned out to be great!! Here is the picture of styrofoam cups, before and after:

Styrofoam cup original size, compressed size

Before the dive both cups were the same size, with a height of 12cm. After the dive the cup was compressed exactly to its half size; 6cm.

The two compressed cups will be mailed to the teachers Mrs. Wickham and Mrs. Hazlitt in Watkins Glen Elementary School, NY as a mementos of our Pacific to Atlantic coast virtual class.

Cheers from NEPTUNE Canada!

Goksenin Sen
Marine Educator