Terrarium

What you need

• two plastic cups
• cotton wool
• sticky tape
• plant seeds (You could use seeds from a packet – alfalfa seeds are great for growing – or hunt together in the garden to find some. If you don’t have any seeds, you can try growing a carrot top, onion or garlic clove on the damp cotton wool.)

What to do

Place some wet cotton wool in the bottom of a plastic cup. Sprinkle some seeds on top. Attach the second cup on top with sticky tape. Observe the seeds over the next few days to see if they sprout and start to grow.

What they learn

Plants start life as seeds. They need water and sunlight to grow.

Making a terrarium also plants to seeds for future learning about how ecosystems work – sorry for the pun!

An ecosystem is an interaction between living things and their environment. You and your child have just created a mini green house.

What is happening?

The trapped heat makes the water evaporate and rise. When the air cools, the moisture condenses on the wall and the top, and when enough water condenses and builds up, it ‘rains’ back down to the cotton wool or soil. This cycle then continues.

Encouragement questions

• Has it grown?
• Is it alive?
• Where did the water droplets (on the side and top of the container) come from?