Experimentation

As some of you may know, Jason is a scientist. He has a PhD in plant biology and although we struggle to keep our grass looking good and our house plants alive, I would say that he is very good at what he does.

On a subconscious level, Amelia must know this. She received the book "How a Seed Grows" a long time ago from her Grandma. It is a pretty technical book that sets up a science experiment growing bean plants. The other day she picked it off of her bookshelf as one of the books she wanted me to read.

As I read the experiment to her, she said, "We should do that!". I told her that we could and she looked at me very seriously and said, "No, I want to do it with Daddy".

Well, okay then.

On Sunday, the two of them set up the project much to Amelia's delight. First, the book outlined how to use an egg container to serve as a holder for the seeds. It noted that holes should be poked in the bottom of each spot. So, (after running out to get a dozen eggs before breakfast specifically to use the carton for this project) they cleaned out the carton and then Amelia got some good practice poking holes in the container with a screwdriver.

After the holes were poked, they headed outside to add soil to the carton.

Then it was back inside to plant the seeds and then add water.

After that, Jason decided to concoct a complex flag system to keep track of the seeds. This was a variation from the book. Despite my initial doubts, the system has proved successful.

The book encourages you to unbury the first bean three days after planting and observe the changes. Amelia and Jason unburied the first bean yesterday and didn't notice much difference, except that it was slightly fatter than an unplanted bean.

However, on Thursday, they unburied bean #2 and were able to see the root pushing out of the bean. Here they are making their observations.

I am pretty sure that most of this "experiment" is lost on Amelia. I think the book has an older audience in mind. But, I love how she initiated it and has shown a lot of interest so far at each step. And with a scientist for a dad, I am sure there will be many more experiments to come!