Appreciating the Power
of Plants
Plants make our world go ‘round. Find out what makes them tick.
About the Activities
Plants provide the oxygen we breathe and the food we eat, directly or indirectly. In this set of hands-on activities, we’ll explore how scientists study plants, grow them, and even change them to create very specific new kinds of plants that we know so well today, but that didn’t even exist hundreds of years ago.
Brought to you by University of Georgia Extension/4-H and USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Special thanks to Kasey Bozeman, Extension 4-H Specialist
Grades: 6-8
Topic: Agriculture, Plant Science, STEM
Plant Classification: Decoding Plant Types
Plants provide oxygen and food to our planet – and there are so many different kinds of plants. In this activity, you’ll learn about the taxonomy system that classifies and organizes plants, and begin to understand how all living organisms are related, and what makes them different.
Grades: 6-8
Topic: Agriculture, Plant Science, STEM
Estimated Time: 30-45 minutes
Pinpointing Plant Parts
Have you ever looked closely at a salad? All the different plant foods you might see in a salad come from different parts of the plant. In this activity, kids will observe plants in their neighborhood, determine their various parts, then sketch out their favorite meal and explore the plants that are a part of it.
Grades: 6-8
Topic: Agriculture, Plant Science, STEM
Estimated Time: 30-45 minutes
Design Your Own Corn
You might already know that humans have DNA to guide individual traits, too, but in this activity we’ll look at plant biotechnology to learn how scientists modify plants to exhibit new or improved characteristics – then create our own corn, deciding its characteristics with a coin flip!
Grades: 6-8
Topic: Agriculture, Plant Science, STEM
Estimated Time: 45-60 minutes
Mustard Mania! A DIY Biotech Board Game
The mustard you eat on hamburgers or hotdogs comes from a mustard plant that scientists have developed over hundreds of years. In this activity, kids will play a board game and learn about wild mustard cultivars, and compete to visit six different gardens.
Grades: 6-8
Topic: Agriculture, Plant Science, STEM
Estimated Time: 45-60 minutes
Engineer a Greenhouse
Greenhouses are protected structures that allow botanists to grow plants in a controlled climate. In this activity, kids will use the engineering design process to design and build a model greenhouse for one or more pretend plants.
Grades: 6-8
Topic: Agriculture, Plant Science, STEM
Estimated Time: 45-60 minutes
Take the Apple Taste Test
In this activity, you’ll taste different types of apples sold in your area and to identify what makes them different. You might even develop an opinion on which cultivar you favor based on taste and texture!
Grades: 6-8
Topic: Agriculture, Plant Science, STEM
Estimated Time: 30-45 minutes

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No endorsement of these supporters' products or services is granted or implied by 4‑H. This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, AFRI - Education and Workforce Development project 2021-67037-33376.9