Heat Transfer Experiment Reflection

The first thing that came to mind when I read this experiment was the types of materials used in on-the-go coffee cups or containers such as Styrofoam, cardboard or even plastic.  I thought that this experiment made the perfect connection to something that I do daily; drink coffee.  I was instantly curious about heat transfer and which material would keep the water hottest at the end of thirty minutes.  The materials I choose to test were: foil, plastic wrap, a thick napkin, cotton dish towel, and cardboard.  My hypothesis was that the foil or the cardboard would keep the water at a higher temperature for the longest time.  Boy was I wrong.  The plastic wrap and the cotton dish towel kept the water the hottest.
I think it would be fun to test heat transfer by using food items in different types of materials to see what kept the temperatures the highest or the lowest.  I think students would be interested in trying things like macaroni and cheese, pizza, hot dogs or even brownies (yum!).  I think that by using food items the results would be different than those of the water because foods are solid rather than liquid.  I just finished a lesson (in summer school) with my students about matter (solids, liquids, and gases) and this would be a perfect extension to that lesson by introducing temperature and heat transfer. It encourages inquiry based learning as well.