Flower Power Science Discovery Box

Included in this discovery box: 

1. Flowers such as lilies,


daffodils,

irises,



and other flowers with large parts


2. Magnifying lenses




3. Safety scissors



or plastic knives





4. Newspaper





5. The Reason for a Flower, by Ruth Miller. This book has wonderful illustrations about flowers and their structures  It shows how the "reason for a flower" is because of the seeds, and it describes pollination. It also shows the anther, stamen, pistil, and stigma.





6. The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds: A Book About How Living Things Grow, by Patricia Relf. This book in the Magic School Bus series takes children inside a flower and explores how living things grow.





7. It Could Still Be a Flower, by Allan Fowler. This book in the Read-About Science series shows many types of flowers all over the world, how they grow, and their different characteristics. Color photographs are used so children can see examples of real-life flowers that they may not have seen before.





In this discovery box, children will be dissecting flowers to investigate their structures:




Children will use this set of instructions to complete the discovery box: Flower Power Discovery Box Instructions


Children will use the safety scissors or the plastic knives to dissect flowers and look for specific parts:

They will then draw a picture of the flower and label its parts:





Books have been included in this discovery box to encourage children to want to continue learning more about flowers and how they grow. The following is a list of additional resources to extend this discovery box:

1. Children's Books about Flowers and Gardening (Scholastic.com)
2. The Tiny Seed, by Eric Carle (YouTube video) 
3. Parts of a flower online game
4. Flower anatomy online game
5. Enchanted Learning's flower theme page

Science Lessons for Children

The following science lessons are all from the website Science Kids and are great both for parents to do with their children at home and for teachers who are looking for easy-to-complete science activities in their classrooms!

1. Mixing Oil and Water



"Some things just don't get along well with each other. Take oil and water as an example, you can mix them together and shake as hard as you like but they'll never become friends.....or will they? Take this fun experiment a step further and find out how bringing oil and water together can help you do your dishes." In this lesson, water, food coloring, cooking oil, and dish soap are used to teach kids about the ways that water molecules are attracted to other molecules. A classic science experiment! 



2. Baking Soda & Vinegar Volcano



"Use baking soda and vinegar to create an awesome chemical reaction! Watch as it rapidly fizzes over the container and make sure you've got some towels ready to clean up." Another class science experiment, children use baking soda, vinegar, and a container to watch the chemical reaction between baking soda and vinegar.



3. Make Your Own Quick Sand



"Quick sand is a fascinating substance, make some of your own and experiment on a safe scale. Amaze your friends by demonstrating how it works." In this simple lesson yet effective lesson, children will mix together cornflour and water to make their own "quicksand." 



4. Rotting Food Lesson Plan

"We've probably all experienced a situation where some of our food has gone bad. Maybe we left it in our school bag or forgot to put in back in the fridge and now it doesn't look so safe to eat. Use this rotting food lesson plan and mold activity to teach kids about fungi, bacteria and more." This lesson includes great conversation starters with kids about why foods go bad, and it includes instructions for a "moldy bread activity."

5. Grow a Plant

"Learn about gardens and grow your own plants at the same time. Use this fun lesson plan to teach garden science for kids. Your students will enjoy learning about different types of plants as well as how to look after their own when they have finished making them." A great springtime activity! Planting and gardening is something that many children are interested in, so this lesson is a great way to get them excited about it! 

6. Design & Build Lego Cars

"Students will have fun as they design and build a Lego car. This activity for kids will challenge their design skills as they try and build a vehicle that will fit they specific needs required of it. Use the lesson plan and help your students build some cool Lego cars while allowing scope for more challenges if you have motors or Lego Mindstorms equipment available." Another subject that many children are interested in! Kids are challenged to build Lego cars that are sleek and powerful, and they are then able to test out those cars on 'racetracks." 

7. Glue Making Activity

"Make glue with this fun chemistry activity for kids. Learn the basic science properties of glue and put your finished product to the test. Enjoy the fun ideas that this science lesson plan offers." What a fascinating science project! Children make glue (with an adult's help) using milk, vinegar, a sieve, and ammonia solution.

8. Fun Polymer Activity

"Learn the basics of polymers with this fun polymer activity and chemistry lesson plan. What makes a polymer  special? What do we use them for? Answer these questions and much more." In this lesson, a great  introduction to polymers, children conduct the "crazy putty experiment," where they will end up making a  product similar to Silly Putty! All that's needed is water, food coloring, PVA glue, and Borax. 9. Experience Gravity Free Water "What goes up must come down right? Well try bending the rules a little with a cup of water that stays inside  the glass when held upside down. You'll need the help of some cardboard and a little bit of air pressure." It  may look like a magic trick, but it's real science! And all you need is a glass of water and a piece of  cardboard!

10. Fun Bubble Activity



"Bubbles are easy to make and heaps of fun to play with. Enjoy these cool bubble activities and fun bubble lesson plan that will let kids make bubbles of all shapes and sizes." This fun lesson includes a bubble recipe that only includes things like dish soap and water. With homemade bubble solution and homemade bubble wands, kids can try out different techniques to make double bubbles, bubble domes, and bubble trumpets. They can even learn how to make bubbles with their hands! 

Science Websites for Children

The following websites are all great for children to visit and learn more about science and the world in which they live!

1. The Weather Channel: Kids!

The Weather Channel's website for kids has a "Weather Center" where you can make your own weather forecasts, weather games, video clips, weather safety information, and a "WeatherED" section of the website for educators.



2. Discovery Kids










The Discovery Channel's website for kids includes games, activities, puzzles, quizes, and a really neat "Tell Me" section that answers questions kids (and adults!) may have about the world, such as, "What are allergies?" and "Do vampire bats drink blood?"



3. Disney Educational Productions



The subheading of this section of Disney's website is "Watch it! Print it! Try it! - It's 'Try This' Science!" Children have access to seven video demonstrations of science experiments performed by kids, plus a printable set of instructions. This really is science by kids, for kids!



4. ZOOMsci



Another great "by kids, for kids" website is this science section of the popular PBS Kids show ZOOM. Dozens of science experiences are listed in categories like chemistry, engineering, and water. Almost all of the experiments were submitted by children, and so they are almost guaranteed to be kid-friendly.



5. National Geographic Kids



The NatGeo Kids website contains lots of great games, videos, photos, information about different countries, and more. The science sections has many thought-provoking experiments for kids, including, "Try to Make an Ant Get Lost" and "Squishy Egg-speriment." Definitely a great way to get kids interested in science!



6. Science News for Kids



A publication of the Society for Science & the Public, this website provides kids access to scientific news articles in the areas of earth and sky, atoms and forces, humans and health, life, tech and math, and more. A great resource for research papers!



7. Science Sparks



Yet another great website for science experiments and activities for kids! The great thing about these is that they can easily be done at home; for example, "How to make an egg shell disappear without touching it?" and "Make a mini water cycle."



8. Growing with Science Blog



Growing with Science is the blog of Roberta, a biologist and writer. Her blog is used by many educators and would be a great resource both at home and in the classroom. With series such as "Bug of the Week" and "Seed of the Week," this is a great way for kids who love the internet to interact with science.



9. Brain Pop Science



Brain Pop is a very fun website for kids! It features the videos of Tim and Moby, cartoon characters who learn about science (and other subjects) together. Many of the videos require a subscription (that many schools have), but there are also free videos on such topics as matter and chemistry, cellular structure, energy, and space.


10. Energy Kids



This website for kids from the U.S. Energy Information Administration has games and activities, sections answering the question "What is Energy?" and the history of energy, energy calculators, and a section just for teachers. A great place for kids to learn more about energy!

Good Reads: Science Books for Children

All of the books below (both fiction and non-fiction) have been approved by the National Science Teachers Association and would be great books for your child to read. All of the book descriptions come from Amazon.com, and by clicking on the title of each book you will be directed to that book's page on Amazon.com. 

1) A Mother's Journey, by Sandra Markle 

With evocative watercolor-and-ink images, this beautiful picture-book tribute to female emperor penguins plunges children into the harsh icy landscape and frigid waters of Antarctica, home to the penguins. The understated, lyrical text follows a young mother penguin as she lays her first egg and then, leaving her mate to tend it, joins the other females as they travel for five days to reach the pack ice and food. Once there, she swims day after day, swallowing her fill of fish and watching for dangerous seals and hunters. In all, she travels 930 miles on a zigzag course until the beginning of August, when instinct tells her it's time to return to her mate and the egg's hatching.

2) A Platypus, Probably, by Sneed B. Collard III

 This informational picture book introduces the platypus, which lives only in Australia, and describes the physical characteristics and behaviors of this unusual animal. Comparing its appearance in water to that of a lizard and a beaver, Collard explains that the platypus is a toothless, egg-bearing mammal that lives in and around streams, burrows in the earth for a safe place to sleep and bear young, and finds its food by sensing electricity in the bodies of its animal prey.

3) African Critters, by Robert Haas 

With a dramatic first-person narrative and close-up photography that brings kids into the thick of the action, National Geographic photographer Robert B. Haas gives us a rare glimpse into the struggles for survival in the African wilderness. We accompany him in his jeep, camera primed and ready to react. With stories and photographs that portray actual events, we wait patiently to spot leopard cubs coming out of their cave to play; we are charged by protective adult elephants who surround a new-born; we move side-by-side with a clan of wild dogs as they hunt impalas.

4)  Alien Deep: Revealing the Mysterious Living World at the Bottom of the Ocean, by Bradley Hague 

Alien Deep outshines the competition by following a recent, specific deepwater exploration that illuminates new knowledge about our oceans. Following alongside a current expedition, Alien Deep will enable children to observe the processes involved in marine exploration. As scientists delve into the mysterious depths of the ocean, children will be able to witness the excitement of scientific exploration and discovery through enriching text and stunning photography. By describing a recent exploration, children will be able to read and see the new methods and technology that oceanographers use to conduct research.

5)  Bananas! by Jacqueline Farmer

You've heard of coffee-table books. Well, this is the perfect breakfast-table book. While you are munching your morning meal, pore over the pages of Bananas! and start your day with some surprising facts. Did you know that bananas don't grow on trees? The banana plant, which can reach 30 feet high in a single year, does not have a woody trunk. The plant is really the world's largest herb! This book discusses many aspects of the banana, including its ancient history, how it grows and how it was displayed as a curiosity at the U.S. Centennial Exhibition in 1876 (where Alexander Graham Bell introduced the telephone). Don't forget to enjoy a banana as you read.

6) Odd Boy Out: Young Albert Einstein, by Don Brown

This well-crafted picture-book biography focuses on Einstein's hard-to-classify brilliance, which led to awesome scientific discoveries, but all too often left him a misunderstood outsider. Brown describes his subject's loving, cultured parents who were frequently nonplussed by their son's behavior and temper. He found himself the "odd boy" at school, and as the only Jewish student, was sometimes taunted by other children. He puzzled his instructors as well; though clearly gifted in science, math, and music, he was an indifferent student in most subjects. This book will pique the interest of readers with little or no knowledge of Einstein.

7) The Man Who Walked Between the Towers, by Mordicai Gerstein

 As this story opens, French funambulist Philippe Petit is dancing across a tightrope tied between two trees to the delight of the passersby in Lower Manhattan. Gerstein places him in the middle of a balancing act, framed by the two unfinished World Trade Center towers when the idea hits: "He looked not at the towers, but at the space between them and thought, what a wonderful place to stretch a rope-." On August 7, 1974, Petit and three friends, posing as construction workers, began their evening ascent from the elevators to the remaining stairs with a 440-pound cable and equipment, prepared to carry out their clever but dangerous scheme to secure the wire. 

8) The Heart: Our Circulatory System, by Seymour Simon  

Simon presents a clear and thorough a look at the human circulatory system as he has at so many other subjects. With the aid of computer-enhanced photographs taken with an electron microscope, Simon explains the system of blood vessels, the role of blood, lungs, and the heart, and a few of the problems which can develop in the circulatory system. At times he uses familiar references to make a point, explaining, for example, that the heart weighs only "about ten ounces, about as much as one of your sneakers." The text, layout, diagrams, and photographs work together to make an eye-catching and useful book.

9)  The Constellations: Stars & Stories, by Chris Sasaki

Beginning with an introduction to stargazing and how to read star maps, the author relates how figures and creatures came to be represented in the patterns called constellations. The 88 alphabetical entries are often a page in length and are accompanied by large, sometimes full-page illustrations. The descriptions include information about the myths behind the patterns and note where and when it is best to view them. Some of the entries include bits of information on the scientist(s) who "invented" the constellation, how the pattern has changed over time, and occasional trivia. The images of the constellations, outlined in light blue with white star points against dark blue backgrounds, add essential information and visual interest to the text. The text font is large and easy to read. This volume will serve the needs of those interested in astronomy.

10) Somewhere in the World Right Now, by Stacy Schuett 

What's happening around the world when it is one o'clock a.m. in England? Lots! Exploring this fascinating concept, this story takes children around the world to show what's going on at the exact same moment in other areas. A time-zone map on the endpapers, which includes the times and names of places shown in the pictures, allows readers to follow the action around the globe. Schuett's illustrations, each overlaid onto a map, capture the mystery of early morning hours on the plains of Kenya, the freshness of a new day dawning in India, and the subtle humor of a dog running off with a worker's lunch in Russia at noon. Her story takes readers through busy cities and family homes, rainforests and swampland, exploring all varieties of settings. A book that is perfect for sparking an interest in geography, emphasizing the amazing concept that at the same moment we are getting ready to sleep, other people are starting a new day.