Pine Cone Science

The children requested to do a bit of float/sink testing with the plastic tops we have been collecting all year. I put out small tubs of water and away they went. One-by-one the children flitted off to other activities until one child suggested adding a few pine cones to the water from our sensory table. 

The children were thrilled to learn that pine cones float. A bit more playing occurred until everyone had their fill and away they went. 

The water tubs sat idle for a good 15 minutes. 

Suddenly, a gasp was heard across the room and a new discovery was made. The pine cones were closed up tight! HOW did this happen and WHY?

This lead us to a simple pine cone science inquiry over the next few days to see just what makes the pine cones open and close. I asked the children WHY they thought there were differences? One of my littles realized that the pine cones that were shut tight were VERY wet.

We set the pine cones on the window ledge and let them dry out for a day and low and behold they opened up again. Hmmm...

We dumped the pine cones onto the table for further investigation. I posed another question to the children: WHY do pine trees have pine cones anyway? We looked to Google to find out a bit more information and found out that a pine cone is not a flower or a fruit.
As the children began manipulating the pine cones, some noticed little seeds falling out from in between the scales. 

We then realized that the pine cone must be a protective shelter for the seeds. After a bit of investigation, we discovered the BEST way to remove the seeds, was to tap the pine cone on the table top.

We also noticed that the seeds were similar to maple seeds in that they have little wings and float like a helicopter when tossed into the air. This is how they are dispersed with the help of the wind.

Once the kids had explored the pine cones, we turned our attention to finding out WHY some of our pine cones were closed while others were open. After a little more inquiry, we decided moisture had something to do with the cones closing. All the pine cones we found that were shut tight felt cold and more damp than the ones that were opened-wide.

For the experiment, I had each child pick two pine cones 
of the same type and size. This would allow them to compare the closed and open pine cones without having to wait for the wet cones to dry out.

When I asked the kids WHY the pinecones close when wet, they guessed that it must not be good for the seeds to get wet. They were on the right track – this was a wonderful example of adaptation.

After the kids tried to pry the scales open, they decided to place the wet cones on a window ledge to see if they would open up again. The next day they were dry and wide-opened again. Right on cue and almost magical!

 These two little guys were so fascinated by this opening and closing process that they continued to investigate day-after-day and noticed that the different types of pine cones shut tight at different rates of speed. 

The heaviest variety of pinecones took the longest and did not close within the length of our STEAM tinker time like the tiny pinecones and the long, skinny-type did. We usually had to check back after an hour or two to see the fat pine cones close-up. 
We also discovered that it took at least two days for the fat pine cones to fully open. We even tried putting them on the heater to speed up the process.

If you're looking for a fun little experiment, go find a few pinecones and toss them into a bowl of water. Watch. Wait. Be amazed:)

 Just in case you were wondering... Adaptation occurs when a characteristic has evolved to give an organism a better chance of survival for itself or its offspring.  When the weather is wet, the base of each scale absorbs the moisture and swells causing the scale to curve inward. The pine cone closes and the seeds are protected inside the cone at a time when it wouldn’t be best for the seeds to be released.

When the pine cone dries out, the scales open again and the seeds are free to disperse into the wind.  The dry and lighter seeds will travel further distances than heavier wet seeds that may be bombarded by rain.

This was probably more than you have ever wanted to know about a pinecone:) We are never to old to learn something new!