Young scientists explore nature's water treatment plants in this simple science demonstration. By placing a stalk of celery in a cup of water mixed with food coloring, children are able to observe how plants absorb nutrients and contaminants from water, helping to remove harmful impurities.

Concepts

environmental stewardship, the environment, water filtration, water, water quality, conservation, contamination, ecosystems, plants, pollution

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Additional Tags

plant life, pollution, contamination, water filtration, clean water, conservation, environmentalism, ecosystem, science

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Instructional Ideas

• Include this demonstration in a unit on ecosystems, especially wetlands
• Perform this demonstration during an environmental science unit on water pollution
• Extend the lesson by testing the effect of different water contaminants on plant life

Classroom Considerations

• This demonstration will take two days, one for introducing and preparing the the experiment and the second for observing and discussing the results
• Demonstration assumes children have background knowledge of plant life and the water cycle

Pros

• Provides a clear, easy-to-follow procedure for carrying out the demonstration
• Offers a field trip idea that extends student learning about water contamination and treatment
• Includes a series of questions for guiding a discussion based on the demonstration

Cons

• None

Common Core

SL.1.2 SL.1.3 SL.2.2 SL.2.3 SL.3.2 SL.3.3 SL.4.2 SL.4.3 SL.5.2 SL.5.3 SL.6.2 SL.6.3