Autumn fun science activities: Fall leaf colors

Jan<brinn@msu.edu> Brinn, Michigan State University Extension -

Autumn is a perfect time to incorporate science activities with youth as the season changes and the fall leaf colors start to paint the Michigan landscapes.

Autumn is a perfect time to do some fun science activities with youth as the season changes and the fall leaf colors start to paint the Michigan landscape. As leaves are being raked, jumped into or simply just visually enjoyed, considering adding a spark of some science education into the colorful palette.  

PBS has autumn science activities youth can do indoors; for example, young children may enjoy the Caillou match the leaves game. Young children can also gain a little art science by going outside and collecting items to create an autumn sprout box diorama.  With the use of a shoe box, glue, colored paper, outdoor collected items and a creative mind the outdoors can be brought inside to enjoy. 

Michigan 4-H provides projects for youth interested in the outdoors with plants, soil and gardening techniques. According to Michigan State University Extension, youth can also learn a lot about science by becoming involved with 4-H Science Literacy programs. Michigan 4-H offers many educational science outdoor opportunities in an interactive, experiential setting. The University of Illinois Extension also has a selection of science autumn educational programs “Fall Education – A Miracle of Fall” with lesson plans and videos for families to review. Within his teaching moment’s segment, Steve Spangler the National spokesperson for 4-H National Youth Science Day (NYSD), introduces interesting ideas pertaining to plant science with Scientists use Hydrogel to “Grow” synthetic tree. He was invited into the partnership with the National 4-H Council to serve as their national spokesperson for the first-ever National Science Experiment in 2008.  For the 2013 year, the National Science experiment will be on October 9 and millions of young people will become scientists for the day during the sixth annual NYSD.

Who knows, a day exploring the science of autumn may spark a youth’s future career interest in environmental education. Therefore, jump into and visually enjoyed autumn and add a spark of some science education into the colorful palette of Michigan’s autumn.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

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