For your first experiment, see if the size of the bean, or seed, has anything to do with how fast beans will sprout. For this experiment you will need 300 kidney beans, 15 plastic cups, some plastic wrap and paper towels. Sort the beans by small, medium and large sizes then place 20 beans from each group on a damp paper towel. Cover the beans with plastic wrap, roll it up, add another layer of paper towels and wrap, then tape everything together. Place each sample in a cup of water and check each one daily for five days to see how seed size affects growth.
Another experiment for young children is to test various growth media to see which one works best. Use lima beans and the story of Jack and the Beanstalk to stir the imagination. Have your students plant one set of lima beans in damp paper towels and a plastic bag and another set in soil in a plastic cup. Set aside time each day to have your students water their beans and measure and compare the two sets of beans, keeping track with growth charts.
Test whether cooking lentil beans has any effect on their ability to sprout by measuring and comparing the growth of seven different bowls of beans. The first bowl is the control sample filled with dry lentils. The other six bowls are filled with beans that have been boiled at various intervals, from five to 30 minutes. Cover the bowls with paper towels and have your students monitor their growth for four to five days.
Set out six different 12-ounce plastic cups and measure out 50 grams of dry beans into each cup. In this experiment your students will calculate how much water beans absorb over time. Label each cup with a “soak time,” starting at zero for the first cup then ranging from 20 minutes to 27 hours for the remaining five cups. Pour 100 milliliters of water into all but the first cup. When the designated times are up, have the students remove the beans and dry them carefully with paper towels. Put the beans into a dry cup, weigh them then compare this weight with the initial cup.