Flowers & Spring
Activity sheet
Children are born scientists – they love to explore and discover. There are many activities that you can enjoy doing at home with your little scientist.
Questions
· What are flowers? Why do plants have flowers?
· What colours are flowers?
· How many sor ts of flowers do you know?
Try This At Home
Coloured Flowers
You Will Need
· White flowers (e.g. carnations or lilies) – works best with fresh flowers
· Food colouring (blue or red work well)
· Clear vase or glass
What to Do
1. Fill the vase with water and add food colouring.
2. Trim the flower stem and place the flower in the vase. The shorter the stem the less time it will take for the water to reach the flower.
3. Check the flower ever y couple of hours.
4. Wait 6 to 12 hours while the flower stems draw up the coloured water. Leave overnight and look again in the morning.
5. The petals should now have turned the colour of the food dye.
What’s Happening?
Flowers drink water just like we do. They suck up water through their stem. Scientists call this capillary action.
Discover More
· What do you think would happen if you split the stem in two and put one half of the stem in red water and the other half in blue water? What colour will the flower become? Red, blue or a mixture of both?
· Try using different coloured flowers.
· Try the experiment using a stick of celery in the water.
Did You Know
Flowers have tiny grains inside called pollen. Pollen is used to make seeds and grow new plants. Some animals, such as bees, butterflies and hummingbirds, are known as pollinators. They help the flowering plants by spreading pollen to other flowers.
TRY THESE OTHER ACTIVITIES
· What flowers grow in your garden? Notice all the different types of flowers in your garden and in your street. With an adult helper, pick a bunch of flowers from your garden and put them in a vase of water.
· Press flowers: Place picked flowers between two sheets of non-stick baking paper, then flatten between two heavy books. Try using them in crafts, for example glue them onto cardboard and make a card.
· Grow some sunflowers: Don’t forget to water them and place them in a sunny spot. After they flower lots of birds will come to your backyard to eat the seeds!
· Make paper flowers: Use tissue paper for the petals and a pipe cleaner for the stem.
Read Books
Have fun finding more at your local library, book store or online.
· The Life Cycle of a Flower by Molly Aloian and Bobbie Kalman
· First Nature Activity Book (With Flower Pressing Paper) by Angela Wilkes
· Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
· Wild Australia Guide: Native Plants by Steve Parish
· The Magic School Bus Gets Planted by Scholastic Publishing
Go on an Excursion
Go on a flower excursion! Here are some suggestions in the Canberra region.
· Floriade, held ever y spring in Commonwealth Park www.floriadeaustralia.com
· National Botanic Gardens www.anbg.gov.au
· National Rose Gardens in the Parliamentary Zone.
· Cockington Green Gardens www.cockingtongreen.com.au
Investigate Websites
There are also many websites for children about flowers. We suggest you start with:
· The Magic School Bus Episode Gets Planted www.veoh.com/collection/MagicSchoolBusEpisodes/watch
· Teenie Weenie Greenies www.teenieweeniegreenies.com.au
· Gardening with Children (BBC) www.bbc.co.uk
· Youtube Search for time lapse flowers and seeds sprouting and growing www.youtube.com
Open 9am – 5pm every day. Closed Christmas Day.
Admission fees apply.
King Edward Terrace, Canberra
t 02 6270 2893
www.questacon.edu.au