In late June, kids from an elementary school visited us for an educational field trip. That early morning, we had to prepare for a seed hunt and tie color-coded bags with seeds inside at various locations – on trees, inside holes, on a banana tree, and any place we could find to get them running around. X marked the spot on a map we printed for where these bags would be found. Forty-five minutes later and already sweaty from the blazing hot sun, the kids arrived.
We sat them down and introduced this place, what we do, and who the teacher was. We demonstrated more than 30 different seeds of different sizes, shapes, texture, and color. We shared knowledge about what seeds do, a seed’s purpose, how seeds arrive in different places, and the advantages and disadvantages of various seed traits. Seeds traits are morphological (e.g., size and shape) and physiological (e.g., ability to tolerate drought or store nutrients) traits of a seed. Everything you see in nature is a result of an adaptation to the local environment. One seed’s advantage in one location could be a disadvantage in a different environment – that is the ecological trade-off not only for seeds, but also for every living organism. We asked the kids many questions about the fate of seeds in different scenarios to stimulate their thinking.
We then sprinted to the open field to find the bags that corresponded to their group color. It was fun to watch kids run around. Most of them didn’t know how to use the maps though. Even without the maps, they were able to find them all. Everyone was exhausted from the heat after sprinting back. So we decided to give everyone some ice and cool-down time in front of the fan.
The last part of the activity was grouping seeds into different categories. From what they were told in the first part of the activity, everyone had to choose several categories and put similar seeds in one group. Some of the common categories they chose were size, color, wind vs. animal dispersed seeds, and texture. We then made them rotate in a circle and have one person in every group remain to present to the incoming group how they categorized their seeds. It was a proud moment to hear them try to explain their categories.
In the last 10 minutes, some of them had time to look at the surface of stones and seeds with a botanical lens. It was surprising how some of them were able to quickly learn how to use one. No one wanted to play the last game prepared for them. Their bellies were growling by then, and a curry feast was awaiting them several tables down.
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