This year, National Science Week’s Grow a Great Bean Challenge sowed the idea among teachers and students to try plant cultivation for themselves. The hands-on activity let students experiment with seed germination and plant growth in the classroom.
Each class from Reception to Year 6 received three bean seeds, soil, and cups, and the challenge to work out how to give their beans the best chance to thrive. Together, each classroom of students decided where to position their plants and how to care for them, observing and recording changes as the seeds germinated and grew.
There was plenty of experimentation along the way. The young scientists placed their plants in different locations around classrooms. One Year 2 class even managed to grow a bean in a cupboard! The excitement as the first shoots appeared and plants began to grow was wonderful to see.
A team of Year 5 students played an important role, serving as plant monitors and judges for the challenge. They visited each Reception to Year 6 classroom to monitor progress. At the end of the challenge, our Year 5 team inspected the final plants and selected a winning bean from each year level.
Thank you to our junior years students and teachers for embracing Science Week with such gusto.
