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But we think that when it comes to kids, practicals are more fun. This is something that has been brightening up TheJournal.ie office this week – a small experiment that demonstrates how plants transport water up their stems to reach and hydrate all parts of the plant.
All you need is some white flowers (carnations or chrysanthemums are good), four pots of food dye and small jam jars or holders.
(And possibly the ability to ignore a colleague who will scoff as you wrestle with food dye and say, ‘Pffft, I did that one in primary school.)
Susan Daly / TheJournal.ie
Susan Daly / TheJournal.ie / TheJournal.ie
1. Fill the holders three-quarters way with water.
2. Add two dessertspoons of gel or liquid dye to the water and mix it up.
Susan Daly / TheJournal.ie
Susan Daly / TheJournal.ie / TheJournal.ie
3. Make sure the ends of the stems are freshly cut, and pop them into each container.
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4. And so the waiting begins…
The next day…
DayThree…
Even the stems are showing signs of the dye through the dark green…
Day Four…
The experiment shows how water travels up through the xylem to reach the leaves and petals of the flowers. And it makes for a nice decoration. QED.
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@Brianog2- dont do that!! The food dye ends up staining dresses! I wanted royal blue flowers for my wedding & as royal blue doesn’t occur naturally in nature, white flowers dyed was an option but my florist freaked out & said no, she’d see too many dresses destroyed by people dying white flowers!
A nice idea is splitting the stems of the flower and putting half in one colour and half in another colour, its a little bit more impressive.
There are thousands of simple experiments to do with small kids, great for getting them interested in science.
Getting my sons ‘hotwires’ and a ‘microscope set’ for xmas so they can experiment with technology and science. At 9 and 8 they should be old enough to do it themselves.
Oh that reminds me I forgot to get a chemistry set…
I put myself in hospital for 10 days with a chemistry set when I was a kid.Magnesium tape is a basterd when mixed with phos. Happy days indeed.Still have the scars.
*Not being sarcastic. Just keep an eye on the kid.Some of those chemicals can burn to the bone.
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