Seeds

There are three ways that seeds travel: air, water, and animals. Seeds that travel through the air are lots of fun to play with and this time of year is a great opportunity to check out seeds together. We usually think of seeds in the spring when we plant our gardens, but trees and many wildflowers make large, easy to find seeds right now!

As the trees stop making food and prepare for the winter, acorns and helicopters like those above will come down along with the colorful leaves. Try dropping some maple helicopters - do they spin better with one or two seeds? Here's one you can make at home. You can try different types of paper or adding more paper clips to make it spin better.

At the library on Tuesday, we dropped them from the balcony much to the delight not just of the participants, but of the library patrons as well. Then we constructed our own seeds using recycled materials. We made seeds that floated on air like dandelions, seeds that had hooks like burs and even one that was supposed to float like a boat.

Science Words: Magnify, Grow, Outside, Inside, Float, Similar, Different

Here are some ideas for you to try at home.

Go on a Seed Walk – put an old pair of socks on over your shoes or put on bracelets of tape with the sticky side out. Take a walk thru a meadow or meadow-like area. What seeds attached themselves to you?

Plant a seed together. You can plant some Indian Corn seeds or bean seeds on damp paper towels. This is a fun way to watch a plant grow. What different parts of a plant to you observe? You can also sprout birdseed on a sponge. Sprinkle birdseed on a sponge in a small container. Keep the sponge moist and the seeds will continue to grow.

Make a seed mosaic. Grab some glue and a few beans, rice, grains, and even pasta to make a picture with the seeds. What is different about the seeds? What is similar?

Seeds for dinner? What seeds do you eat? Can you make a meal of them? Some ideas:
Corn is a seed – corn bread, Johnny cakes, polenta
Most nuts are seeds – cashew butter, walnuts, sunflowers
Grains are seeds – wheat, barley, oats

~Thanks to birds eye view at flicker for the great photo!