Biology: Etrog vs Lemon

This week we studied etrogs from a biological perspective. First we classified them as citrus, a type of flowering plant and talked about the role flowers play in helping plants reproduce. Etrog trivia: What part of the flower is the pitom?

Then we asked the question: What's the difference between an etrog and a lemon? The kids started off by making some external observations: shape, color, volume, and weight, and then they opened them up and looked inside. They noted differences in the relative proportions of peel and fruit as well as differences in the volume of juice. They took the pH of each fruit and congratulated themselves on a job well-done to the tune of a tall glass of lemonade. Etrogade, we learned is pretty tough to make given how little juice each fruit contains.

Biology: The birds and the bees

This week we investigated flowers...beautiful displays of nature, so fragrant, so delicate, so easy to cut into lots of tiny pieces! Yes, this week ten flowers donated their bodies to science, so that your children could learn about the birds and the bees...literally.

The kids dissected lilies and matched each part with a description of the role it plays in making more flowers. Pollination, fertilization, ovules, and anthers, we covered it all...a comprehensive discussion of the facts of (plant) life.

One of the reasons we introduced this topic now is in preparation for an exciting international research project we will be joining run by an organization called iEARN. Classrooms around the world will be planting daffodils and other bulbs during the last week of November. We will be collecting data on temperature and other variables, and over the next few months we will be tracking the daffodils' growth. Throughout the project we will be sharing our results with other participating schools and groups. To read more about the project, you can check the following link http://media.iearn.org/projects/daffodilsandtulips.