Steps to conducting the Activity:
- Fill a tall, clear glass or jar half-full with water.
- Add a few drops of red food coloring and mix well.
- Trim the bottom of a large stalk of celery, leaving the leaves on the stalk.
- Place the celery stalk in the glass or jar. Leave overnight in order for the stalk to “drink” the water.
- Make a mark with black pen to the level of the water in the jar.
- Print out the observation Sheet attached for this activity. Have your child draw a picture of the celery stalk “before” it drinks the red water and then have him write a sentence to describe what he sees.
- The next morning, observe what has happened. Let your child tell you where he thinks the water has gone and what has happened to the celery.
- If he’s stumped, ask them to look at the water levels in the glass and ask them questions like where do you think the water go away. why is the water not there at the mark point. If they do say Celery drank the water then ask them Why do they think so. What makes them think celery drank the water.
- Now explain them again that water has been absorbed into the celery stalk, tinting the stem and leaves red. Ask him if he thinks the whole plant gets water for food, and help guide him to see that yes, the whole plant did get the water for food since all parts of the plant have now turned red (from absorbing the red water that was in the cup the day before).
- Have your child complete the “after” portion of the observation sheet. He can draw a picture of what happened and write a sentence to sum up his findings.