Searching for Sun
You need nutritious food and water in order to stay healthy and grow. Plants
also need food and water, but another important ingredient is sunlight. This
activity will help you see just how far a plant will go – or grow – in order to
reach sunlight.
You Will Need:

2 sheets of back heavy paper

A fast growing plant that is native to Saskatchewan, such as a Prairie
Sunflower or Many-flowered Yarrow, planted in a pot.

Sticky tape

Scissors

Water
1. Roll one sheet of paper into a tube large enough to fit around the potted
plant.
2. Tape the sides together securely and set it aside.
3. When your seedling is 3 to 4 cm (1 to 2 inches) high, place the tube of
paper over the pot.
4. Cut your tube so that it is a few centimeters (1 inch) higher than your
plant.
5. Cut a piece of black paper to make a lid that will lie flat over the top of
your tube.
6. Towards one edge of the lid, cut a hole about 2cm (1 inch) wide.
7. Take your plant, with the tube around it and place the lid on top.
8. Put your plant and place it in front of a bright window. Remember to
water the plant when it is dry.
9. Check your plant in one week.
What Happens:
What did your plant look like when you checked it after a week?
Why do you think it looked like that?
What do you think would have happened if you had placed the hole in a
different place? Or not cut a hole at all?
Why:
The plant inside the tube grows in the dark. It reacted to the small circle of
light let in by the hole in the lid and grew towards it.
Once you see the plant poking through the hole, remove the black paper and
look at the shape of your plant. You will find that the stem has grown long,
spindly, and crooked, stretching for the light.
This activity was adapted from,
Pamela Hickman. The Jumbo Book of Nature Science. Kids Can Press Ltd., Toronto, ON, 1996. Page 111.