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***image1***Vogelweh Elementary School is one of the test sites for an international science project that watches signs of spring throughout North America, and a few limited sites in Europe.
Hundreds of schools in the United States and Canada, and three or four in Europe, are planting tulips to scientific specifications, then regularly observing and reporting their observations to the database. The site sends weekly challenge questions to help the young scientists think about the trends and findings. Individual students, or whole classes, can ponder the answers to these questions, respond online, and read what other students and classes have said.
Last week, every child at Vogelweh Elementary School helped plant a tulip garden as part of their participation in Journey North. The Parent Teacher Student Association purchased the bulbs and the fifth-graders planned the location of the beds.
For the past several weeks, fifth-graders had been working on the problem of finding a place that best represents Vogelweh’s climate, doing the math to figure out how long the beds would need to be, and planning where the bulbs could be safely planted.
The fifth-graders began digging the beds Nov. 24, and helping the younger students in the school plant a tulip bulb at the specified depth, with the correct amount of bone meal.
First-grader Rosa Garcia said she enjoys observing nature. “I put the bulbs in the dirt. There were worms in there, but I didn’t see one,” she said.
“It was a wonderful experience for the young pre-school children to be involved in the school-wide project,” said pre-school teacher, Terri Sawyer.
When the bulbs were all planted, fifth-graders logged into the Journey North Web site and reported the planting of the official garden. From now until spring, classes will be checking the Web site and participating in various activities related to what factors influence when spring comes in various parts of the world.
“It’s exciting having our students participate in this international science project,” said Sharon Overstreet, VES principal. “The enthusiasm they had when planting the bulbs shows the pride they have in their school and community.”
