Spring into Camp Edvotek – Starting with Germination!

Seeds contain the embryo and food source needed to enable new plants to grow and survive. Germination is the first process of plant growth when a seed begins to sprout roots. Seeds will begin to germinate when they have absorbed water, causing the seed to swell and sprout its first root (known as the radicle). As roots sprout from a seed they can then absorb nutrients from the soil and continue growing into a full plant. Seed germination is dependent on temperature, water absorption, oxygen availability, and exposure to sunlight. While these vary between seeds from different plants, we have outlined a short experiment which will work to germinate a variety of seeds.

This experiment will take roughly a week to get significant seed sprouting but the early stages of germination generally start to be visible after four days. All you will need is a jar, paper towels, water, and seeds. We recommend using sunflower or pea seeds but encourage campers to experiment with a variety of seeds! Most seed packets come with a description of how long they take to germinate!

Here are the steps to germinate your seeds: 

1. Fill a jar with paper towels.
2. Add water to soak the paper towels. You want the paper towels to be soaked without the jar being completely filled with water. Over-flooding with water can prevent seed germination.
3. Slide twenty to thirty seeds in between the soaked paper towels and glass of the jar so you can observe the seeds.
4. Place the jar by a window and observe any changes throughout the next few days.

It’s as simple as that! If you’d like to take it further there are many fun ways to explore factors affecting seed germination using this experiment. Just set up multiple jars on the same day and watch how your seeds grow under different conditions! Such experiments are a great way to explore independent, dependent and constant variables. We recommend you encourage your campers to get creative with these experiments but here are some ideas:

• Examine how light impacts germination rate by placing one jar by the window, one in the middle of a room and one in a closet. Keep the seeds, paper towels and water levels constant!
• Study how the amount of water affects germination by making a jar with double the amount of water, a standard amount of water, half the amount of water and finally, a jar with no water.
• Create multiple jars with varying amounts of sugar/salt dissolved in the water and observe the effect on germination. 

So there you have it! Nice and easy germination experiments as spring blooms into summer! For educators that are on a limited time frame, we recommend germinating your seeds at home a week before. That way your campers will get a chance to see the end result of their work after setting up this experiment. For more advanced campers interested in agricultural science, Edvotek has you covered with these kits below:

Congratulations on earning your gardening badge found in the Camp Edvotek activity guide and coloring book! Stay tuned for more Camp Edvotek activities at blog.edvotek.com.