Biospheres Update

Post Contributed by Ally Berstein, Teaching Assistant

Ginger drew her plant as if under a magnifying glass

Exciting news, families - the biospheres that we planted during our "Art with a Heart" themed week have sprouted and grown! This cold weather experiment was not sure to have a favorable outcome - we were uncertain that the seeds would have enough heat and natural light to germinate and grow. There must be a little bit of magic in Room 302, because nearly all of the biospheres have boasted hearty growth! Today, we cracked open our nature journals to chronicle the growth observed thus far.

A snapdragon plant thriving.

Beye Discovery students were asked to sketch their plant within the biosphere, write observations and create a hypothesis for future growth. Students were able to observe a peer's biosphere if their own lacked observable growth or if they had been absent for the first lesson.

Elise's sketch and observations

Joseph focuses on his biosphere

Joseph and his completed sketch

In these images, you may notice that the biospheres are filled with condensation - the bottles had clearly heated up quite a bit to allow for growth! The students who had planted wildflowers observed significant growth. Those who had planted snapdragons also noticed flourishing plants. Most of the basil plants either didn't germinate or didn't exhibit significant growth, although a few students noticed that their basil plants displayed interesting and unexpected colors.

Wilson

Lucy's artistic depiction

Peyton sketching

Laila and her observations

Ben and his illustrated journal cover

Jordon's drawing

Anika sketching

Watching the plants grow every day has been a treat, as they have brought greenery to the classroom, even with limited natural light. We plan to revisit the experiment periodically and will keep you updated on our plants' progress.