Journey North Tulip Garden and Climate Change Study

What's Happening Underground?
Bulb Life Cycles

Materials
* 1-3 tulip bulbs (Designate 1 or more from your garden or plant some in pots.)
* 1 or more plant pots and potting mix (optional)
* Handout: Our Underground Bulbs

Standards

Ever wonder what is happening to your tulip bulb under the ground? Why not take a closer look?

Overview: Students imagine what happens to their bulbs underground. They then dig up one or more bulbs in their garden or they simulate winter and dig up bulbs planted in pots. As they do so, they discover something about bulb life cycles.

Teacher Background
Are bulbs completely dormant and lifeless underground, or is something actually going on? Read this background information to learn more. Then prompt students to discover some of this for themselves. Start this activity in late fall or early winter.

Preparation
Outdoors: Mark a corner of your garden where you'll dig up one or more bulbs during the winter and/or spring. If you cover the area with mulch (e.g., hay) or if it's covered with deep snow, the ground should be soft enough to dig.
Indoor Pots: If your ground freezes solid in the winter, plant one or more tulip bulbs in pots filled with moist potting mix; cover the pots with paper bags. To "simulate" winter conditions, put the bags in a refrigerator, cool celler, or other location that stays between 35 and 50 degrees F.

Laying the Groundwork
If students drew pictures of bulbs before they planted their Journey North garden, hang them up and have the class review them. If not, ask students to describe the bulbs they planted. Then ask, What do you think our bulbs look like now? Accept student responses and document them on a class chart.

Exploration

Pass out copies of the handout, Our Underground Bulbs. Ask each student to draw what they think the bulbs the class planted look like underground.
Dig up one of the planted bulbs and have students draw what it actually looks like. Ask them to share or write one or two things they wonder about as a result of this exploration.
You can repeat this one or more times before your tulips emerge.

Making Connections: Discussion and Journaling Questions

Were you surprised by what you found? Why or why not? How did it compare to what you predicted?
What can you say (conclude) about tulip bulb life cycles based on what you observed?

Have students revisit this last journaling question as they observe changes in their bulbs through the spring and beyond. Once students have observed and drawn their bulbs at different life cycle stages, and discussed their findings, you may want to share some of the background information.

Assessment
At the end of the Journey North season, ask students to draw at least four different stages of a tulip bulb's life cycle beginning with the bare bulbs they planted.