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Make Art with Apples
In this science activity, kids explore fruits, seeds and apples, and make an art project.
A fruit is the fleshy, usually sweet and edible product of a tree or other plant that contains the seeds for that tree or plant. Vegetables are the other parts of a plant, such as the leaves, stems and roots. That means that tomatoes, cucumbers and squashes are actually fruits!
Apples are a type of fruit that grows on trees. There are thousands of varieties, and they are grown in many places around the world. They can be all different shades of red, yellow or green. They can be as large as a grapefruit or as small as a cherry. But inside every apple you will find five seed pockets; these are called "carpels." The number of seeds you find in each carpel depends on what kind of apple it is and how healthy the tree is.
The science of growing apples is called pomology. Humans have been growing and eating apples for thousands of years; they were a favorite fruit of the Greeks and Romans. Most apples are picked in the fall. The largest apple ever picked weighed 3 pounds!
Materials
- apple - 1/2 of this item per student
- Set of washable paints - 1 of this item per class
- Plates (1 per paint color)
- Paint brush - 1 of this item per student
- Sheet of paper - 1 of this item per student
Instructions
Go apple picking, or purchase several different shapes, colors and sizes of apples. Observe what is similar and different about each. Take a bite too -- do they taste different?
Now cut several apples in half (both lengthwise and across the center) and examine what you find inside. How many seeds can you get out? Examine these too. (And use them in the Make Apple Seeds Dance activity!)
Squirt different colors of washable paint on separate plates; spread the paint around evenly. Show children how to dip the flat surface of a cut apple in the paint and then make a print on the paper. Repeat with different colors.
Extension:
This is a fun way to make wrapping paper; just use a large sheet of white butcher paper.
