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Description

What does a plant need to grow? Get outside, get your fingers green, and find out in this fun science experiment.

Resources

You will need
Plant pots
Rulers
Soil
Cress seeds
Watering can

Instructions

Plant the seeds
Everyone should split into groups, and each group should choose a group name.
The person leading the activity should show everyone how to prepare a pot of seeds. They should fill the pot about three quarters full of soil, sprinkle on the seeds, and add a light layer of soil on top. Then, they should water it.
The person leading the activity should give each group four pots, a watering can, a spoon, and a ruler – and enough soil and cress to fill each pot.

It’s OK for groups to share a watering can.
Each group should prepare four pots, following step two. They should make sure they’re as identical as possible; for example, they should use the same shape pot, and use the ruler or spoon to measure the amount of soil, amount of seeds, and depth of the seeds.
Chat about seeds
The person leading the game should ask people what seeds need to grow. Some people may already know that plants need air, light, warmth, water, and soil (which includes nutrients and minerals the plant needs – things such as nitrogen and calcium).
Everyone should think about what might happen if a plant didn’t have one of the things it needed.
The person leading the activity should explain that each group will keep their four plants under four different conditions, to see how they grow. This is why it was important they were as identical as possible, so everyone knows any differences are because of how the plants were kept.
Prepare the experiment
Each group should label all four of their plants with their group name.
Each group should label each plant with the conditions it’ll be kept in. They should label the plants ‘good conditions’, ‘no water’, ‘no air’, and ‘no light’.
Everyone should plan how they’ll make sure the plants get the things they’re supposed to. The ‘good conditions’ plant should be kept on a sunny windowsill and given a drink of water every day. The ‘no water’ plant should be kept on a sunny windowsill and not watered. The ‘no air’ plant should be covered in a plastic bag that’s secured by an elastic band – but it should be kept on a sunny windowsill and watered every day. The ‘no light’ plant should be kept uncovered in a dark place and watered every day.
Depending on the group, people may take different plants home, leave them at their meeting place, or give them to a volunteer.
Everyone should think about what they think will happen to the different seeds. Will any grow? Will they all grow? How might they be different?
Next time you meet
Everyone should bring back their plants (or collect them from a volunteer or meeting place).
Everyone should look at whether their plants are healthy. A healthy plant will be standing upright with green leaves.
Everyone should compare their plants, and talk about how they look different.

The seeds kept in the dark will likely be patchy and pale, and the seeds without any water or air are unlikely to have grown at all.

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