I vividly remember growing a bean in a plastic baggie when I was a girl.
I thought it was SO NEAT! To help with observation we used a jar instead of a bean this time, and I was delighted to discover that my kids were just as amazed by this simple bit of science as I was so many years ago. Read on to see how you can easily grow a bean in-a-jar!
How to Grow a Bean in-a-Jar
Materials
- An empty jar
- Cotton balls
- A dry bean
- Water & a sunny window
Note: We used a Lima bean, but any dry bean should work.
Method
- Begin by wetting several cotton balls and placing them into a jar. You want the cotton balls to be wet but not too saturated.
- Wedge a bean between the cotton balls and the glass of the jar so that your child can easily observe the bean growing.
- It is now time to watch & observe.
- Have your child predict what will happen to the bean, and then observe the jar over the next several days.
- Add a few drops of water to the cotton balls as needed.
Bean in-a-Jar Experiment
- The bean will begin to change fairly quickly. Our beanstalk began to form after just 1 day. This is what our bean looked like after 3 days.
- And this is what we had after just 1 week!
My girls loved checking on the beans throughout the week, and they loved watching them grow!
The Science Behind the Fun
As we grew our magic beanstalk we discussed seeds/beans, how plants grow, and what plants need to thrive. I asked Rosie and Jewel questions along the way like:- Do you think our bean would grow if it didn't have water?
- Do you think the bean would grow if we put the jar in a closet away from sunlight?
- How do you think the bean is taking in the water from the cotton balls?
I loved hearing their answers and watching their minds come to understand the science behind plants. We also loved tying the story of Jack & the Beanstalk into our experiment. It was really fun to read about Jack and his magic beanstalk while growing our own "magic stalk"!
More Science Experiments to Try:
- Rock Candy Experiment
- Skittles Candy Experiment
- Walking Water Experiment
- Make Magic Snow
- Ghost Eggs Experiment
