You can buy commercial root viewers, which allow you to see the plant’s roots grow over time. However, they are expensive. Design your own root viewer from recycled clear containers.

Gather:

    *  Seeds from the kitchen, such as dried bean seeds, popcorn and raw sunflowers

    *  Clear containers such as tubs, bottles, plastic cups, packaging…

    *   Potting soil and/or paper towels

    *  Water

    *  Paper and pencil to draw design and record results

    *  Ruler

Explore:

Go through your recycling bin and look for clear container that might make a root viewer. If it is too big, think of a way to modify it.

Press the seeds against the inside wall of the container. How will you hold them in place? You might want to try either wet paper towels or moist potting soil, depending on the size of the container. If you are using soil, either punch some drainage holes in the bottom or cover the bottom with a layer of pebbles for drainage. Then fill about half way with soil. Place several different kinds of seeds against the inner walls. Or if you are in a hurry, you could try sprouts. Cover the rest of the way with soil. Water as needed to keep moist. be careful though, too much water can make things moldy.

Can you see the roots growing? If not, what might you do differently? What happens if you cover the bottom of container so the roots are in darkness versus are exposed to light?

If you’d like to do an experiment, you might want to measure the roots each day and see how much they grow. Do the roots grow the same amount every day? Do the roots of some plants grow faster than others? What about if you water some more than other (you will need more than one container)? Do the roots of different kinds of plants grow differently? For example, do some grow straight down, or do they branch like a tree? Do some roots look like a mop when they grow?