At-home STEM Activities: Fall Leaf Pigment Prints
Here in New England, autumn is a favorite season for many for a variety of reasons: the cool, crisp weather, the abundance of fall produce like apples and pumpkins (and the tasty treats made with those!), and the beautiful changing leaves. But with the changing of the seasons comes the question of why we see this change at all. So today, let’s explore why the leaves change color in the fall. Then, once we know the “why,” let’s save a little bit of fall by making fall leaf pigment prints!
Virtual Storytime: A Seed is Sleepy
In honor of National Wildflower Week, this week’s Distance Learning offerings are focusing on the plant world.
Join one of our museum educators as she reads A Seed is Sleepy, by Dianna Hutts Aston, with illustrations by Sylvia Long!
At-Home STEM Activities: How Many Seeds?
In honor of National Wildflower Week, this week’s Distance Learning offerings are focusing on the plant world.
When fruits and other seed plants reproduce (make more of themselves), a tiny new plant embryo forms inside their seeds. The seed protects the embryo and stores food for it. Seeds are released by the parent plant and dispersed (sent to new places) by wind, water, or animal activity. If the seed lands where the conditions are right, the embryo germinates and grows into a new plant.
In this all-ages activity, we’ll practice our estimating, counting, basic math, and motor skills using the seeds from fresh cherry tomatoes! This activity is modified from a lesson developed by National Agriculture in the Classroom.
Distance Learning Module: Nutrient Cycling
In honor of National Wildflower Week, this week’s Distance Learning offerings are focusing on the plant world.
Plants use their roots to absorb nutrients from the soil in which they are growing. The process of nutrient cycling captures elements such as nitrogen from the atmosphere, converts them into a usable form for plant nutrition, and returns those elements back to the atmosphere when the plant dies and decomposes. Learn more about the “how” and “why” of nutrient cycling here!