Our young scientists have been busy providing care to our garden. So far, we've harvested lots of mint and lemon balm which we used to make yummy tea to taste test at home. Leafy greens such as collards, kale, and lettuce, have been grown to feed our backyard flock of chickens.
Young scientists have taken home cherry tomatoes and three different types of basil. We've been impatiently waiting for our cucumbers to be ready. Oh so soon! This week, we were ornithologists! An ornithologist is a scientist that studies birds. Chickens are birds and they have specific characteristics. We explored beaks and feathers this week, with particular focus on function and anatomy.
The highlight of our week was our backyard chickens! We took a detailed tour of where the chickens live. Using shoe covers, we were able to go inside the aviary! We learned about the needs of chickens, gave them food and treats, and learned how to provide basic care. We had a lot of fun observing the chickens and listening to all the sounds they made. Our favorite was the chicken egg song! We ended our week by exploring the word oviparous. Chickens (birds) aren't the only living things that lay eggs. Other animals are oviparous too! Can you think of one? Ready...set...grow! Young scientists were introduced to this year's garden with a scavenger hunt! Can you find the biggest leaf? How about the smallest? How many cucumbers, tomatoes, and zucchini can you find growing in our garden? The answer was much more than we expected!
This week, young scientists made compost tea for our garden. We used compost from our backyard system to make a nutrient rich liquid to be used on our garden beds. This compost tea helps keep our garden growing healthy and strong. This week, we harvested a small handful of tomatoes, some beans, lots of mint and lemon balm, and two types of basil from our hydroponics system. The growing season is just beginning! We began our summer of growing and exploring by taking a closer look at dirt. We explored the composition of soil and focused on three main ingredients: sand, humus, and clay. Young scientists compared and contrasted each ingredient and shared their observations. We explored how each ingredient responds to water and even worked on some dirt paintings!
Depending on what's being grown, and where, the soil composition will be different. During our time in the Lab garden, we collected a soil sample for further exploration later on in the week. The 2022 growing season has officially begun and our young scientists have been spending time caring for our plants. This year, thanks to support from Con Edison, we've expanded our growing capabilities to include the backyard. Two new backyard raised garden beds are currently growing zucchini, bush beans, herbs, and wildflowers.
Below is a snapshot of our gardens in June: |
My son LOVES these classes, so informative, hands on and fun! Loading PurpleAir Widget...
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