Okay, there are seeds in there somewhere.
Any idea what plant these gleaming red jewels are from?
Edit:Â The answer is now posted.
Author: Roberta (Page 380 of 562)
What were those simple round seeds last week? They were radish seeds, Raphanus sativus.
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The generic name for radish, Raphanus, comes from the Greek for “to appear quickly.” Radishes do just that. They can germinate in a little as three days under the right circumstances and can produce an edible root in as little as three weeks. That’s what makes them a great plant for children to grow.
Here’s the part we eat, the fleshy root. Radishes may be red, white, purple, gray, yellow or a mix of colors, depending on variety.
We enjoy “French Breakfast” (not shown here) for its mild flavor.
If you do not harvest the roots, the plant may eventually flower.
Letting the radish go to seed and produce fruit can be interesting for children, too.
The fruit or seed pods look somewhat like elongated peanut shells.
Inside the seeds are protected by a white material that resembles styrofoam.
Given this somewhat fancy packaging, how do you think these seeds disperse?
It has been a few weeks since we visited the International Year of Chemistry website, so let’s see what has been added.
Dow Chemical and The Franklin Institute (TFI) have uploaded three videos in what they are calling the “Celebrate Chemistry†series. I suspect they will be adding more in the future. Nothing too novel or innovative, but they have tried to make the videos child friendly.
1. Baking Soda Volcano (Recommended for grades 3-4)
2. In a video for older kids, The Science of Baseball covers the law of energy and conservation, and principles of physics.
If you are interested in the Student Chemistry Cartoon Contest and/or Student Chemistry Video Contest, you’ll need to submit your entries soon. They are due May 31, 2011. The idea is to clearly illustrate a chemistry principle in way that will enhance how chemistry is taught.
If you would like to find activities being held in your region, click on the activities tab and then look for your country. There is also a search box.
Here are two examples I found:
If you live in Michigan, Spring Arbor will be featuring chemistry at their annual Cougar Science Camp June 20-24, 2011. For more details, see the Cougar Science Camp page.
On August 13, 2011 Grout Museum District in Waterloo, Iowa will attempt to break the Guinness World RecordsTM Largest Chemistry Lesson. The lesson will start at 11:00 a.m. according to the International Year of Chemistry, but they don’t have it on the museum calendar yet.
If the celebrations inspire you to do some chemistry experiments, here are 10 chemistry books to help give you ideas:
For more information, see Roberta Gibson Writes.