Experimenting With Plants
With spring in full bloom in Northern America, now is the time to introduce the kids to horticulture. These simple, yet fascinating experiments will get you started!
Mushroom Spore Prints
Materials Needed:
Mushrooms - different shapes and sizes. The large ones work really well.
Construction Paper
Baking Dish
Hair Spray
Cut the stem off of the mushroom.
Place the mushrooms, gill side down onto the paper. Make a design if you like.
Cover with the baking dish.
Let sit overnight.
Remove the baking dish and carefully pick up the mushrooms.
Hair spray the prints by holding the can of spray at least 1 foot away from the paper, or the spores will blow away.
Great, easy addition to the ole' portfolio!
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Discuss the fact that a mushroom is a fungi. Fungi are not green and do not have roots or leaves. Talk about spores. Fungi are produced from spores.
Grow your own Mold
Materials Needed:
A slice of bread.
A zip-loc baggie
Magnifying Glass
Lightly moisten the slice of bread and place it in the baggie
Place the bread on the top of the refrigerator.
Check the slice every day and check for growth.
Use the magnifying glass to closely examine the growth.
You will see a strand with a ball on the top. The ball is the spore case.
Discuss spore cases.
Pine Cone Walk
Take a walk outdoors. Locate several pinecones. If the pinecones are open, the weather will be dry. If the pinecone is closed it is going to rain. This is the way Native Americans predicted the weather.
Ask the child why they think the pinecones would close if it was going to rain.
Grow an Avocado Plant
Carefully remove the seed from the center of the fruit.
Place four toothpicks into the seed, forming a “ring” around the seed.
Place the seed on top of a cup. The toothpicks will keep the seed suspended above the glass.
Fill the glass with water and place in a sunny window sill.
Add water as needed and wait for the plant to sprout!
An avocado is an ANGIOSPERM. It produces flowers and we eat its fleshy fruit.
Learning About Roots
Materials Needed:
Top several inches of a Carrot, Beet or Sweet Potato Preferably with the greens attached to the top.
Glass
Toothpicks
Place the toothpicks into the vegetable the same as described in the avocado experiment.
Place on top of the glass (if using a potato skip the toothpicks and place the slice on a saucer.
Fill the glass (or saucer) with water.
Change the water every day.
In a few weeks roots will appear. You can place your plant in a pot with potting soil and it will make a lovely houseplant.
Talk about the job of a plant roots.
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