Activity 1: GO GREEN SCAVENGER HUNT

Background Information: "Going green" means that you learn about and make choices to help protect the environment and sustain our natural resources for current and future generations. Natural resources are living and non-living things found in nature. Non-living things include water, air, and soil, while plants and animals are examples of living things. At The STEM Connection, one of our core values is to take care of the Earth. There are lots of different ways we can take care of our planet and try to live in a way that is good for Earth, the Earth’s natural resources, and the people that live on the Earth.

STEM Career Connections: Environmental engineers use technology and innovation to develop solutions for problems related to pollution, natural resource depletion, and other environmental concerns. Environmental engineers may also work with government officials to create laws to protect Earth’s natural resources.

Materials Needed: pencil or crayon

Activity 2: IMPORTANT POLLINATORS

Background Information: Pollination is the transfer of pollen from one flower (or part of a flower) to another flower (or another part of a flower) of the same species. Pollination is needed for the production of seeds, which can eventually grow into new plants.

Birds, bees, butterflies, beetles, flies, moths, ants, wasps, bats, and other mammals, including people, are all useful pollinators because they all can pollinate plants. Pollinators are really important to people - it has been found that pollinators are responsible for providing people with one out of every three bites of our food! They also sustain ecosystems by promoting biodiversity and the production of our natural resources. Though many types of insects and animals work as pollinators, bees make the best pollinators because they spend so much time visiting flowers and collecting pollen.

STEM Career Connections: Entomologists are scientists who study insects, like ants, bees, beetles, and others. An apiarist, or beekeeper, is someone who keeps, cares for, and raises bees for commercial or agricultural purposes.

Materials Needed: Paper, pencil, colored chalk, cotton balls

Directions:

  1. Draw two pictures of a big, simple flower on paper.

  2. Color in the middle of the flowers using two different colors of chalk. The chalk represents the pollen of the flower.

  3. Use a cotton ball to represent a bee. Dab the cotton ball on the middle of one flower and then on the middle of the other flower modeling how a bee visits many flowers.

  4. Observe the cotton ball and the flowers. What do you notice about the cotton ball? What do you notice about the colored parts of the flowers?

Activity 3: SEED DISSCETION

Background Information: A seed is the part of a plant that can grow into a new plant. It is a reproductive structure which disperses (gets moved from one place to another), and can survive for some time. When conditions are right, the seed can grow into a new plant. A typical seed includes three basic parts: (1) an embryo (baby plant), (2) a cotyledon/endosperm (stored food), and (3) a seed coat.

STEM Career Connections: A horticulturist is someone who cares for plants and studies ways to make them grow better. Horticulturists study many types of seeds and plants, including fruits, nuts, herbs, vegetables, and spices.

Materials Needed: Lima beans, small bowl or cup, water, toothpick, baggie (optional) cotton balls or paper towels (optional)

Activity 4: SEED STARTER GLOVE

Directions:

  1. Read or listen to a read aloud of How to Help the Earth - by the Lorax (read aloud - https://youtu.be/lbUS3jPjyrc).

  2. Complete the Go Green Scavenger Hunt. (Linked Below)

  3. Think about all the different ways you and your family currently help the Earth and what other things you want to start doing to help the Earth even more.

  4. Record three things that you are going to try to do over the next few weeks or months to help care for the Earth and live in a more sustainable way.

Directions:

  1. Observe a dry lima bean (seed). What color, shape, texture, and size is it?

  2. Predict what the inside of the bean/seed will look like.

  3. Place dry lima beans in a small bowl or cup of water for about 30-60 minutes.

  4. After soaking the bean, remove from the water.

  5. Use a toothpick to gently remove the seed coat (outer covering) of the seed. What do you notice about the seed coat after the bean was soaking in water?

  6. Use a toothpick to gently separate the bean (seed) into two parts.

  7. Look closely at the inside of the bean (seed). What do you notice? Can you find the cotyledon/endosperm (stored food) and the embryo (baby plant)?

    Bonus: Set up a seed baggie to watch for germination (sprouting) over the next few days/weeks. Dampen cotton balls or paper towels and place them in the baggie. Add a few seeds. Place/hang the baggie in a sunny spot by a window and observe the seeds each day. If the cotton balls/paper towels get dried out, add more water. Once the new plant is a few inches tall, it can be eaten (bean sprouts are common in Asian cuisine) or transplanted into a larger pot/cup with soil to continue growing.

Background Information: Plants not only provide food for animals and humans, but they also help keep the air clean and healthy for breathing. Growing plants can be fun, and is a great way to grow your own food, provide food and other essentials for pollinators, and regulate gasses in the air. Germination is the process by which a plant grows from a seed. Most plants start their lives as seeds. Seeds need the right conditions to start to grow. Some seeds need light to germinate, others need darkness (like when buried in soil) but all seeds need moisture, oxygen, and the right temperature to germinate. When a seed starts to grow, the roots grow first, then the stem, and finally, the leaves followed by flowers and fruit.

STEM Career Connections: A botanist is a scientist who studies or experiments with plants. A botanist may study plant parts, plant growth and reproduction, or how humans impact plants.

Materials Needed: Clear plastic food service glove, cotton balls, seed packet, scissors, tape, water

Activity 5: PLASTIC BAG BRACELET

Directions:

  1. Gather seeds, either from the seed packet or ones you have collected. Seeds can be collected from your pantry (beans, sunflower seeds) or produce (oranges, lemons, peppers).

  2. Observe the seeds. Notice how they are similar and different.

  3. Take the plastic glove and spread it out flat.

  4. Dip 1-2 cotton balls in water so they are damp but not soaking wet. Place 1-2 cotton balls in each finger of the glove and push them all the way to the fingertip.

  5. Carefully place 1-2 seeds (depending on size) in each fingertip.

  6. Find a window that gets good sunlight. With adult permission, use a few pieces of tape to hang your glove in a window.

  7. Check the glove daily. When the cotton balls are dry, add a little more water. The cotton ball should be damp but not soaking wet.

  8. Watch your seeds germinate (sprout) and grow. Once seeds have grown too big for the glove, transplant the baby plant to a small pot or cup with soil. Place the pot or cup near a sunny window and continue to water it when the soil is dry.

    Bonus: Journal your observations over time.

Background Information: Humans produce a lot of trash - up to 1,000 pounds per person per year! That’s a lot of trash ending up in landfills. Fortunately, there are many ways humans can reduce the amount of trash they produce. One way for humans to reduce the amount of trash they produce is by finding ways to reuse items and materials instead of throwing them away. People around the world have come up with creative ways to reuse trash materials like plastic bags.

In the book, One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of the Gambia tells the inspiring story of five women who creatively dealt with their village’s plastic trash problem. Despite limited resources and ridicule, Isatou and her friends persevered for more than a decade, eventually realizing economic empowerment through their recycled plastic purse project. The book also includes bonus information such as a Wolof language glossary, timeline of actual events, and photos of the women of Njau. (http://oneplasticbag.com/explore-the-book/).

STEM Career Connections: An entrepreneur is an individual who creates a new business, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as an innovator, a source of new ideas, goods, services, and business/or procedures. A conservationist is a person who dedicates a substantial portion of their time and/or resources to conserving biodiversity, single species, or habitats anywhere in the world.

Materials Needed: Scissors, tape, several plastic grocery-type bags

Directions:

  1. Think about plastic bags. Brainstorm ways the bags or bag material can be reused.

  2. Cut the bags open and lay them flat. Cut the bags into thin strips.

  3. Tape multiple strips together. Twist or braid the strips to make a long rope. Put tape on the ends of the rope so it stays together.

    Bonus: Use the rope to make a bracelet, bookmark, jump rope, or other item that is useful to you or someone you know.