Sign up for free

Category: Projects 4 Botanists

Natural Colours

Posted on by Emily Hunt

Natural Colours

You will need

  • Paint charts
  • An outdoor space
  • A camera/ipad (optional)

How to do it

Simply grab a paint chart and see how many colours you an match up with natural objects!

Are there any colours that you struggle to find in the natural environment? Why do you think this is?

What are we learning

This activity encourages children to really look at the natural environment around them and the colours within it. It introduces them to the important role that botanists and naturalists play in studying the plants and flowers around us. You could use it as an opportunity to talk about scientific concepts such as how the process of photosynthesis affects the colours of leaves.

Investigate

Repeat this activity in a different season. How has the range of colours that you have found changed? Why do you think this is?

Careers associated with this activity

Daffodil Dissection

Posted on by Emily Hunt

Daffodil Dissection

You will need

  • A daffodil
  • Scissors
  • Tweezers (optional)
  • Magnifying glass (optional)

How to do it

  1. Take a daffodil and carefully begin the dissection. Start with the outer parts of the daffodil: sepal, petals etc.
  2. Use a pair of scissors to cut the corona. You may also want to use tweezers to assist with the dissection.
  3. Continue to dissect the remaining parts of the daffodil, laying them out on a flat surface.
  4. Use a magnifying glass to take a closer look at each part of the daffodil.

What are we learning

A flower dissection is a great way to get children to really engage with the parts of a flower. Flowers like daffodils and lilies work particularly well for this activity. Children will enjoy discovering and labelling all the different parts of the flower and researching their purposes.

Investigate

Go on a nature walk and look at other types of flowers. What flower parts do they have in common? What are the differences?

Careers associated with this activity

Flower Chemistry

Posted on by Emily Hunt

Flower Chemistry

You will need

  • A flower
  • A pestle and mortar
  • A jug of water and a teaspoon
  • Vinegar
  • Bicarbonate of Soda
  • A paint/baking tray

How to do it

  1. Drop two petals into a pestle and mortar.
  2. Add two teaspoons of water and mix until the water changes colour.
  3. Use a syringe to collect up the mixture. Then add it into three different tray wells.
  4. Add a teaspoon full of vinegar to the first tray well and mix. This is your acid indicator.
  5. Add a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda mixed with water to the second tray well and mix. This is your base indicator.
  6. Compare the colours in each tray well. What is different about them? Why do you think this is?

What are we learning

A rose is an example of an acid-base indicator. Other flowers that you could use include tulips and pansies. When we add an acid it turns the petal mixture an orange or pink colour. When we add the base it turns the petal mixture a blue or purple colour.

Investigate

Now try this with a range of other flowers. Which ones are acid-base indicators? You could also try this activity with fruit and vegetables.

Careers associated with this activity

Measure Scavenger Hunt

Posted on by Emily Hunt

 Measure Scavenger Hunt

What different sizes can we find in the natural environment? 

  • A measuring tape or ruler
  • Scavenger hunt list (see example in photo)
  • A pencil or pen
  • A timer
  • A camera (optional))

How to do it

Note: you will need to prepare the scavenger hunt list in advance. Younger children could measure items in cm’s while older children could have a mixture of cm’s and mm’s.

  1. Take a copy of the measure scavenger hunt list and decide on an outdoor area that your hunt will take place in (for example, a garden, park or woodland).
  2. You have 15 minutes to find and photograph an example of each item on the list. You will need to use the measuring tape carefully to make sure you have found an accurate example of each item on the list.
  3. When the time is up, review the findings and count how many items you photographed.

Optional: Make this into a competitive team challenge and see who can find the most items. Alternatively, try going to a different natural environment to see if you can beat your score.

What are we learning

Measuring tapes help us to accurately measure the length and width of different objects. We have been using the metric system, in which length is measured in millimetres (mm), centimetres (cm), metres (m) or kilometres (km). There are ten millimetres in each centimetre. The natural world is full of many different sizes and shapes. Leaves from the same tree or plant can vary in appearance and size. However, they will always roughly correspond to the same basic shape.

Investigate

Choose your favourite leaf or flower from the scavenger hunt and find out what species it is. You could use a nature book to identify it or use an app such as ‘PlantSnap’.

Download & Print Activity

Careers associated with this activity

If you’d like to join our mailing list pop your email in the box below