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Click below to download the 2015 Early Childhood STEM Conference Presentation, "Applying The Scientific Method to Gardening." Held by Cal Tech. Written by Cynthia Wylie and Maggie Smith. It includes many cool ideas for experiments involving plants. 
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The Scientific Method is an organized way of asking and then answering questions about the world around us. Early learners are natural scientists: inherently curious, young children are trying to make sense of the world around them, the exact aim of science. Think of all the "why" questions you hear. Let your child practice asking their own questions about things. There are many ideas at the bottom of this page too. Even small children are capable of doing an "experiment" using the Scientific Method. Click below to download and print your copy. Have fun!
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Rosey Posey and Big Red were kind enough to pose for this coloring sheet on the parts of a plant of tree. If you can, use a plant in your home or yard to show the parts in real life.
Big Red is a Coniferous Tree or Evergreen with needles. There are also Deciduous Trees with leaves. They fall off in the Fall and grow back in the Spring. Most plants, even vegetables, have the same parts that Rosey has: roots, stems and leaves. Click below to download and print this coloring sheet.
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What is a vegetable? Vegetables are the fleshy parts of plants: roots, stems, leaves, flowers, seeds and fruit that we eat.
Why are vegetables good for us anyway!?! Because they have inside them vitamins and nutrients that we need to live a good life. A fun activity to do with your child is hold up vegetables or fruits from the different part of a plant (see coloring sheet above) and see if they know the answers. Or print out this worksheet/coloring sheet for them to work on.
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Other Scientific Experiment Ideas:
1. Hold up two fruits of the same size, e.g. a tomato and an avocado. Ask children to think of questions to compare them.
2. Make a guess or hypothesis of the answers.
3. Then using the scientific worksheet, design your experiment. Observe, feel, cut open, research. How are you going to find out the answer?
4. Observations or data collection. You can observe them for color. You can weigh them on a scale for weight. Feel them for texture. Cut them open and taste them for taste. Observe the consistency of each. Count their seeds. Measure their seeds. Observe the inside color. Research online how long it takes to grow and do they grow in the same way?
5. Conclusion. Was your hypothesis correct?
- Are they the same color outside?
- Are they the same shape?
- The same texture?
- The same weight?
- Do they taste the same?
- Do they have the same consistency inside?
- Are their seeds the same size?
- Do they both have the same number of seeds inside?
- Are they the same color inside?
- Do they grow in the same way?
- Does it take the same amount of time to grow a tomato and an avocado?
2. Make a guess or hypothesis of the answers.
3. Then using the scientific worksheet, design your experiment. Observe, feel, cut open, research. How are you going to find out the answer?
4. Observations or data collection. You can observe them for color. You can weigh them on a scale for weight. Feel them for texture. Cut them open and taste them for taste. Observe the consistency of each. Count their seeds. Measure their seeds. Observe the inside color. Research online how long it takes to grow and do they grow in the same way?
5. Conclusion. Was your hypothesis correct?
You can use the scientific method for all kinds of gardening experiments. If you have some potting soil, seeds, little pots or baggies and some other items (sand, salt, paper towels, etc.), you can come up with endless comparisons for growing plants. Remember we found that over 90% of our student participant would eat a vegetable if they grew it!
You can see that the possibilities are almost endless.
Note: all of these have to be done with all other things being equal. Make sure to introduce kids to the concept of control variables in science. In other words, if you are going to see if seeds sprout better in salt water or fresh water, make sure you use the same variety of seeds and vegetable/flower, the same soil, the same amount of sunlight and the same measurement of water given every day.
You can use the scientific method for all kinds of gardening experiments. If you have some potting soil, seeds, little pots or baggies and some other items (sand, salt, paper towels, etc.), you can come up with endless comparisons for growing plants. Remember we found that over 90% of our student participant would eat a vegetable if they grew it!
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- Which will grow taller? Seeds grown in sunlight or darkness?
- Which veggies will grow faster? Test an array of different vegetable seeds if you have some.
- What will sprout faster? Seeds without soil (like a paper towel) or with soil?
- Grow better? Seeds grown in sand or soil?
- Grow at all? Fresh water or salt water?
- Any difference in growth? Clean water or dirty water?
- Any difference in growth? Overwater or underwater?
- Do plants grow stronger with music or silence? (There was a great Myth Busters episode on this.)
You can see that the possibilities are almost endless.
Note: all of these have to be done with all other things being equal. Make sure to introduce kids to the concept of control variables in science. In other words, if you are going to see if seeds sprout better in salt water or fresh water, make sure you use the same variety of seeds and vegetable/flower, the same soil, the same amount of sunlight and the same measurement of water given every day.
You can also visit the Classroom Resources page on Bloomers Island for pages and pages of helpful, educational and downloadable materials that you can use in the classroom.
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All images and designs copyright © 2008-2020 Cynthia Wylie. All Rights Reserved. Contact for licensing opportunities.