In this case, my son carved a pumpkin (with supervision, of course!). The next thing I knew, he was in the sink, filling his pumpkin up with water! This is when I decided we should move outside.
As I watched him fill the pumpkin up...over and over and over...I realized he was learning tons of science concepts!
First of all, the water always came out the mouth before the eyes.
He tried to block it, but it took my adult-sized hand to stop the water from pouring out the mouth. Then it came out the eyes...until I moved my hand.
After I moved my hand, water came out the eyes and mouth again, but it came out of the mouth with more force than the eyes.
This demonstrates basic principles of pressure, force, and distance, and has loads of extension options...next time we're going to add a squirt of dish soap!
And the best part is that it was entirely child-led and fits in so well with pumpkin carving!
It also can be used as a Halloween STEM project!
Science: parts of a pumpkin, pressure, force, water flow
Technology: carving tools, hose/sink
Engineering: creating a jack-o-lantern
(We actually had an engineering mishap as a bit of pumpkin was cut out of a corner that my son did not intend to cut! We almost had a crisis but, happily, he was able to adjust his plans and carry on.)
Math: qualitative discovery of how water flows out of different parts of the pumpkin
You could also consider jack-o-lantern creation an art, which would make this little project a STEAM activity too! This science experiment is fun for all ages. I'd love to hear about any pumpkin science projects you've tried, as well!
Happy Educating,
Carla
I may share at any of these parties!
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