Materials
Lima beans bowl two wide-mouth jars blotting paper (long enough to line the inside of the jars) paper towels
Instructions
1. Soak the beans overnight in a bowl of water.
2. Place the blotting paper to fit tightly against the walls of each jar.
3. Crumple two paper towels.
4. Put a paper towel in the middle of each jar.
5. Fill the jars with water and wait until the paper towel absorbs as much of the water as it can.
6. Pour off the excess water.
7. Push a few of the beans in different positions (horizontal, diagonal, vertical) between the blotting paper and the glass in each jar. Be sure they are spaced apart and near the top of the jars.
8. Keep the jars out of direct sunlight and wait and watch the seeds grow.
9. Water the paper towels every other day so the seeds will keep moist, but not soggy.
10. Once the seedlings have reached about an inch over the jars (about a week), lay one of the jars on its side. In which direction will the seeds grow? Observe for a few days. Tell the children that the growth hormones in a plant respond to the Earth's gravitational pull, which causes roots to always grow down and stems to always grow up (geotropism).
