Today we are going back to visit the book Seed to Seed: The Secret Life of Plants by Nicholas Harberd for more insights.
The author, Nicholas Harberd, has run into a bit of a roadblock in his research. When he asks his son what he is doing at school, his son tells him he is growing beans in a jam jar, a classic elementary school activity. There’s an “Eureka!” moment as Dr. Harberd realizes the importance of these early experiences.
Sprouting bean seeds in preschool or kindergarten is a seemingly universal activity. Just because it is very common, however, does not mean it has less value. Germinating bean seeds is a significant early introduction to how plants work.
Seed Germination
As you can see from this time lapse video of a mung bean germinating, the process unfolds in a defined sequence.
First, the seed coat begins to wrinkle and the seed swells as water is taken up. If you keep an eye on the center bean, you can see the tiny white radicle begin to emerge first. If you look closely at about 1:00 minute, you will see the end of the radicle, which is still white, starts to produce fine threads. Those are root hairs. At the same time, the part closer to the seed is also elongating and beginning to green up a bit. That is the hypocotyl, which is what supports the cotyledons as they rise about the surface. As the hypocotyl continues to elongate, the cotyledons begin to emerge from the seed coat. By 2:00 minutes, the cotyledons are beginning to open and the first leaves or plumules are beginning to show. The stem-like structure that will eventually arise between the cotyledons and the plumules is called the epicotyl.
Brittannica Kids has a good graphic showing the bean germination process.
Activity 1. Sprouting Bean Seeds (Observing and Experimenting)
This activity can be done any number of ways. I will give instructions for one way and links to other sites with good instructions.
Gather:
- Dry bean seeds, especially big types like lima beans, available in the grocery store in the dried food area. Dry bean soup mix is another fun source of different types of beans, and some contain barley or other grains.
- Paper towels
- Water
- Plastic sandwich bag or paper plate covered with plastic wrap
Bean soup mix is fun to sprout.
Procedure:
Wash hands before starting to cut down the chances of mold.
1. Wet two or three paper towels until damp, not dripping wet. Lay the towels flat.
2. Place enough beans for all the children on half of the towel. Fold the top over, creating a sandwich with the beans inside.
3. Slip the paper towels into a plastic bag and close, or onto a paper plate and cover with plastic wrap. The plastic will help prevent the towels from drying out too quickly.
4. Check the beans every day to see how the beans germinate. Depending on the temperature, the beans should start to swell and a root start to form as early as 24 to 48 hours later.
Add enough water to keep them damp if the towels begin to dry out.
5. Have the children draw the beans each day and measure how much each part has grown, if possible. Record the results.
6. Allow the children to experiment with the seeds. They might want to remove portions of the plant or seed or change the growing conditions (moisture, light, add soil) to see what happens.
Extension: Compare seeds with two cotyledons with seeds from plants like barley, corn or wheat, which have only one. See What is a Seed for dissection instructions.
Related links (some sites have ads):
- Growing bean seeds in cotton balls in a jar
- Growing runner beans in a jar in paper towels
- This one added a paper “greenhouse” to frame a ziploc
- The classic growing seeds in a plastic glove
- Classroom germination experiments
Activity 2: Germination Test for Older Kids
Ever have a pile of leftover seed packets tucked away in a cupboard somewhere? You know, the ones with the “Packed for 2009†stamped on them?
If you are not sure whether the seed is still viable or whether planting it would be a waste of time, there’s an easy test to find out. It is called a germination test.
Pull out your old seed packets. Note: check the packages carefully to see if the seeds are treated with pesticides, such as fungicides or insecticides. Avoid handling pesticide-treated seeds.
For each packet you and/or your children want to test, gather the following:
- Paper towels
- Either paper plates and plastic wrap /or zip-loc style plastic bags
- Water
Wash your hands prior to starting and try to keep everything as clean as possible.
1. Prepare a separate damp paper towel for each different seed packet.
2. Select 10 seeds from each packet you want to test. For example, you might have 10 marigold seeds and 10 corn seeds.
3. Lay the 10 marigold seeds on a damp paper towel and fold it over. Then either lay the towel on a paper plate and cover with plastic wrap, or slip the damp paper towel into a zip-loc bag. Repeat for the 10 corn seeds or whatever kinds of seeds are in the rest of the packets.
3. Come back in 24 hours and 48 hours and look for the tiny root (radicle) poking out of the seed, a sign that it is germinating. Count how many seeds germinate and how many do not. Certain seeds, like carrots, take a long time to germinate (up to 2 weeks), so keep them moist and don’t give up on them right away. If no seeds germinate after two weeks, then perhaps it is time to invest in a new batch of seeds.
You can calculate the percent germination by dividing the number that germinated by the number you set up. For example if 9 seeds germinated out of 10, then your percent germination = 90%. If only 5 germinated out of 10, then the percent germination is 50%.
To see our complete plant science lessons, either visit the plant science category (newest posts to oldest posts) or the plant science section of our experiment archive page (links to posts in order).
For more activities, try our Gardening/Plant Science for Kids Pinterest board.
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