When Goldilocks finds three bowls of porridge at different temperatures in the three bears' house, she accurately assesses the situation and comes up with one of the most recognizable lines in children's literature," This porridge is too hot; this porridge is too cold; aahh, this porridge is just right!" Goldilocks' famous line is a perfect lead-in for an inquiry with upper elementary students that explores the concept of heat energy as measured by temperature. In this article, the author presents an activity wherein students consider the variables that might account for temperature differences between each bear's porridge. This activity allows students to make surprising discoveries such as a quantity of porridge in a smaller bowl will retain heat energy longer than a large bowl with the same quantity of porridge. (Contains 3 figures and 1 resource.)