“What do plants need to grow?”
“Where are the places trees can thrive and flourish?”
“How do minuscule seeds transform into mighty oaks?”
The above are simple questions to ask your child if you want to pique their curiosity about plants. Conducting hands-on and sensory experiments helps illustrate big concepts like responsibility and sustainability in a manner that kids appreciate.
Kids are natural explorers and truth-seekers, so they won’t stop wondering until they understand how the world works, in this case, plants! Here we have 5 easy plant experiments they could try to build the foundations of a child’s understanding of plants.
Note: if you’re not a big fan of running to the store to buy some materials, the PlantExplo Science kit contains every tool your child needs to perform 10 unique plant experiments (other than the ones we’ll discuss here today!)
In any case, here are the 5 fun plant science projects!
5 Stay-at-home Science Experiments with Plants
1. Salad leaf flavoring experiment
The first plant experiment is pretty simple; try to quiz your child by asking if they could change the flavor of a plain old salad leaf. But here’s the clincher: No dressing allowed!
This plant science experiment deals with a familiar concept in plants called capillary action, or the process of how water and nutrients are transported from the roots underneath the ground up to the leaves.
Here are the things you’ll need:
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3 Lettuce leaves (of similar sizes)
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3 beakers or cups
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Water
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Sugar
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Salt
Instructions:
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Fill three beakers or cups with water until half-full.
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In one beaker, dissolve half a teaspoon of salt. In another, dissolve half a teaspoon of sugar. Leave the last beaker unaltered, as this will serve as the control setup.
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Place one lettuce leaf in each of the beakers and make sure the shoot is dipped into the liquid.
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Leave the setup for 5-6 hours, and then taste the lettuce leaves afterwards. Do they taste different?
Result:
The leaves will exhibit a slight change in taste depending on where they are submerged: One will lettuce leaf will be sweet, another a tad bit salty, relative to the one dipped in water.
Explanation:
In the experiment, the lettuce absorbed the water from the shoot up to the leaves in a process called capillary action — the same process that facilitates the root’s absorption of water and other nutrients from the ground up to the different parts of a plant.
2. What are the hidden colors of leaves?
It’s easy to consider how some kids may think leaves are green-colored because it’s what our eyes can see. But other colors are hiding underneath leaves, and this is one of the plant experiments to reveal all of them!
Here are the things you’ll need:
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Cup or beaker
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Water
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Alcohol
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Scissors
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Filter paper or kitchen paper towel
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Tape
Directions:
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Take 1-2 leaves from a plant or tree and grind them using a mortar and pestle to make a paste.
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Mix equal parts of water and alcohol in a beaker. Add the paste to the solution and stir until the clear mixture changes color.
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Cut the filter paper to make long strips (about an inch thick).
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Dip one end of the strip into the solution while the other end is taped outside of the beaker. Make sure no more than 3-4 cm is dipped in the mixture.
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Let the setup sit still and return after a few hours, and ask your child to describe what they see.
Result:
The solution will slowly seep up the filter paper revealing 2-3 different colors: green, yellow/orange, and sometimes red.
Explanation:
The color of leaves is caused by the different pigments found in them. Chlorophyll is the pigment giving leaves their distinctive green color. Carotenoids are yellow/orange pigments. Unlike these two pigments present throughout the year, anthocyanins are red pigments only produced by plants around autumn, which explains the reddish hue of leaves around that time.
3. Pinecone experiment
If you have pinecones in your area, this might be a fun plant experiment to wow your child. They’ll see firsthand the ability of pinecones to move in response to the environment.
Here are the things you’ll need:
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An open pinecone
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Thread or string
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Any small weighty object
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A clear mason jar (where the pinecone and object can both fit)
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Water
Directions:
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Pick an open pinecone and tie a string on one of its scales. Knot a small weighty object like a bolt.
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Place the pinecone-string-bolt inside the clear mason jar. Fill the jar with water until full. The idea is that the pine cone must remain submerged in water, hence using a weighty object.
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Wait for 5-10 minutes and observe the magic.
Result:
The scales of the open pinecone would seal shut by the end of the experiment.
Explanation:
The closing and opening of a cone's scales are caused by the swelling and shrinking of the cone's plant cells. This open-close mechanism is a dispersal mechanism of pine trees. When the weather is dry, the pinecones open to reveal the seeds dispersed by the strong winds. While if it’s rainy, the cones close since seed dispersal is difficult.
4. Flower dying activity
How amazing would it be if we could design our own flowers from scratch? Unfortunately, we can’t, but at least there are plant experiments that can help us transform white petals into colors of our choosing without using any paint.
Here are the things you’ll need:
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Flower cuttings with white-colored petals like chrysanthemums, gerberas, or carnations
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Water
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Gel food coloring
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Mason jars
Directions:
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Pour water into the mason jar until almost filled
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Dye the liquid with any gel food color of choice
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Submerge the stem of the flower cutting into the jar, leaving the flower head exposed
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Leave it for several hours, and then observe how the petals look
Result:
The petals will adopt the color of the solution.
Explanation:
We’ve mentioned above the concept of capillary action, which is the pulling of water and nutrients from the bottom up to the different parts of the plant. The same principle applies in this activity.
5. Transpiration in action
Transpiration is one of the most basic processes that plants undergo and is often described as their cooling mechanism. If your child loves cooling off on a hot day by drinking a smoothie, plants have their ways to chill too!
The transpiring process is invisible to the naked eye, but we’ll make it visible in this plant science experiment!
Here are the things you’ll need:
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A plant in your garden
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A Ziploc bag
Directions:
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Let your child choose a plant in your garden (preferably with several branches).
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Place the Ziploc bag over a branch of the plant such that the Ziploc covers the part, and then seal the bag.
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Expose the chosen plant to sunlight.
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Observe after a few hours. What does the bag look like?
Results:
There should be water droplets condensing along the insides of the Ziploc.
Explanation:
Transpiration is the process of releasing evaporated water from microscopic pores called stomata along the backside of a leaf. When the environment gets too hot, leaves open up this pore allowing water to evaporate, cooling the plants. Essentially, it’s like their own version of sweating.
The plant experiments above are some of the best home experiments you could do to teach children a thing or two about plants. And you might awaken their inner botanist when you engage in the listed activities. Understanding plants is becoming increasingly important in today’s urbanized and techno-centric era, especially as we seek renewable energy and green technology sources!
We hope you have fun doing them!
Our PlantExplo Kit Has it All!
You can do many fun plant experiments at home, but sometimes, you’ll need to outsource some materials from the store to get them. If you don’t like driving for material errands, why not get a science kit that packs everything your child needs?
TheSTEMkids’ PlantExplo kit has all the materials your kids need to conduct 10 exciting experiments. Feel free to read more about it and check our other science gadgets!