Home >> Science & Nature >> Nature

Leaf and Cellophane Experiments

Engage your child's curiosity and creativity with a variety of experiments using leaves and cellophane. Help him practice sorting, classification, controlled experiments and cromatography through enjoyable activities. Most of the experiments require common household items and can be prepared in an afternoon.

Identification
- Practice sorting, comparing and contrasting, and classification with pressed leaf samples. Collect leaf samples from a variety of plants and trees. Press each leaf between two sheets of newspaper and then place it between several heavy books. Remove the leaves after one week. Wrap the pressed leaves in a sheet of clear cellophane. Use the samples to help your child sort the leaves. She can group the leaves by shape, such as round or pointy, color or size. Older children may identify the specific species of leaf using a book or the Internet. Mount the leaf samples in a blank notebook when finished.
Growth
- Use colored cellophane to test the effects of color on plant growth. Make tents using sheets of cellophane in red, yellow, blue, green and clear. Cover five identical bean plants with the tents. Provide all of the plants with equal amounts of sunlight and water. Help your child measure and record the growth of each plant as the days pass. Green is a color that most leaves reflect rather than absorb, so pay careful attention to any differences between the plant in the green tent and the others.
Colors
- Use a few household items to extract the individual colors from leaves using a process called "cromatogrophy." Find leaf samples from different trees. Cut each leaf into small pieces and put the pieces into small, separate jars. Fill the jars with rubbing alcohol, covering the pieces completely. Cover the jars with clear cellophane. Put the jars in a tray and fill the tray with an inch of very hot water. Leave the jars in the tray until the rubbing alcohol changes color, about 30 minutes. Use coffee filter strips to extract the colors from the alcohol. Place one end of the strip in the alcohol and watch together as the colors move up the strip. Encourage your child to put the strips in his leaf notebook or to save them for a future art project.
Color and Light
- Help your child experiment with color, light and creative expression with this simple project. Provide small squares of colored cellophane in a variety of colors. Help your child draw simple outlines of leaves with a black marker on a sheet of clear acetate, or encourage her to trace real leaves. Give her white glue and tell her to fill the outlines with the cellophane squares. Talk about the changes she observes when different colors overlap. Display the leaves in a window with plenty of light.

Nature