Strawberry Investigation

Summer is not quite over, which means we get to enjoy strawberries just a little bit longer! Everyone in our family loves strawberries, my boys will eat them by the basketful! And in true Clarissa form, when my boys are interested in something (even food!) I ask myself how I can build on that interest and make a lesson out of it. That brought us this simple Strawberry Science Investigation!

Supplies

• Strawberries
• Blunt child proof knife
• Magnifying glass

We started the investigation by asking ourselves where strawberry seeds are located. I will be the first to admit I was wrong about the answer! The first time I did this lesson was with my 2 year old Hunter (see this picture from Instagram), I taught that the little specks on the outside of the strawberry were the seeds. Yup, that was (technically) wrong. When I did this lesson the second time around, I still let my 3 year old cut open the fruit and search for a seed inside (I wanted him to truly partake in the whole investigation!)

Of course a magnifying glass was necessary to see if they were too small for us to see.

Nothing but juicy red fruit in there!

So where are the seeds?!? I actually looked up strawberries online so I could use the right terminology for this lesson and that’s when I found out the truth abut the seeds- they are actually located INSIDE those things we call seeds! The “seeds” are actually the true fruit of the plant. Here’s some vocabulary:

Achene: The name for those “seeds” on the outside. The true seed is inside of these!

Calyx: The leafy crown at the top of the strawberry

Here’s Cannon investigating the calyx:

Pretty interesting that the red flesh is not truly a fruit of the strawberry, and those little seeds are the true fruit which holds the seeds! (Read more of the scienc-y stuff here.)

Now tell me, when was the last time you were surprised by a kid’s lesson? What was the interesting fact you learned?

(oh, and don’t forget to share this with a friend! Enlighten them about where strawberry seeds are really located!)