Ah, Christmas. It’s a time for relaxation, for family, and for exploring your mad scientist. Yes?
Well, we all know that cats view the Christmas Tree as a physics experiment. Now you can experiment with your Christmas tree too!
Christmas trees look very different. A number of the true firs work very well as a Christmas tree because they have widely-spaced branches, perfect for hanging ornaments. If you don’t know what kind of tree you have, find out! Learn about the history of your tree.
Read stories about trees as habitat. The Night Tree by Eve Bunting and The Little Crooked Christmas Tree by Michael Cutting both tell the stories of Christmas trees as homes for animals.
Experiment with tree sap. Woodpeckers use the sticky properties of tree sap to trap insects. Get seed beads, plastic ants, and other items that you’d like to “fossilize,” and place them in a ball of sap. Can you get it to dry and surround these items in amber?
Use your Christmas tree as wildlife habitat when you’re finished with it. If you have a property that is large enough to host a tree without offending the neighbors, cut the tree into sections and see what animals begin to colonize it. The children can examine the tree when it first goes outdoors. As the tree decays, bring in sections to examine them under the magnifying glass or microscope.
Inoculate sections of the Christmas tree with mushrooms for a fun(gal) time! While many edible mushrooms prefer to live on hardwoods, some species native to coniferous forests enjoy living on softwoods as well. This includes the lovely edible chanterelle. You can buy mushroom spawn from stores online – simply search for mushroom logs, and you’ll find them. From tree to food: that’s a science experiment you can sink your teeth into!
Image Credit: [Ayla87]