Good Science Fair Projects – Plants Reaching For Light (Part two)
Thursday, September 18th, 2008In our previous good science fair project we had a look at chlorophyll and how plants use this chlorophyll, sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to produce glucose (a form of sugar.) What else, that is very important, is produced through photosynthesis? (In the process carbon dioxide is taken from the air, what is released back into the air?) Now we are going to do a good science fair project to demonstrate how plants actually reach for sunlight. We know by now that they cannot survive without light, which we proved in our previous science fair project. Now we are going to do a really fun science fair project. If you want to do a really good science fair project, it might be a good idea to combine these two science fair projects as it gives you a very clear and visual picture of plants growing and needing sunlight.
Today’s science fair project is a good science fair project for someone that is a little handy. We are going to make a maze in a shoe box to demonstrate how the plant searches and reaches for light.
What you will need for your good science fair project:
* First you need a shoe box
* You will need a pair of scissors
* Stiff card
* Some sticky tape
* Black paint
* A paint brush
* A pair of gardening gloves to protect your hands
* A runner bean
* A plant pot
* Some good compost
* Water
Now for the fun part: making your maze in your shoe box!
1. To start cut a hole in the one end of the shoe box.
2. Making a maze in your shoe box is very easy, start by cutting eight flaps out of the stiff cards. The flaps must fit securely into your shoe box in the width.
3. Now paint your shoe box and the eight flaps all over with black paint. Do you know why we are doing that? Think about the light reflecting…yes, the black paint is to stop the light entering through the hole from reflecting inside the shoe box!
4. Now you can make a maze by sticking the eight flaps of card inside the shoe box with sticky tape. Cut slots into your flaps at a different place in each flap to form a maze (if you are not sure how to do this, ask for the help of an adult who knows what a maze looks like.)
5. Plant a runner bean in a small plant pot with compost.
6. Water the soil each day to keep it moist but, do not make it too wet. Keep it in a warm place until the bean has a shoot. Remember to keep the soil moist, depending on the temperature; it may not be necessary to water the bean everyday.
7. When your plant has a shoot place it at the bottom of your maze.
8. Close the lid and place the maze in a sunny spot.
9. Remove the lid once a day to see if your plant needs water.
10. Now you can observe what is happening.
11. If you did it right, the plant will grow and find its way through your maze to steadily move towards the light.
12. Eventually your plant will poke through the hole at the top of your shoe box.
13. For display purposes it is a good idea to take a photo of your plant growing zig-zag through your maze and out the hole at the top.
This is one of our good science fair projects for those that like to make things and our prospective gardeners!
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