Seeds on the Move

Third graders have been very busy collecting seeds from the USM campus and then determining how these seeds were "dispersed". Ask any 3rd grader what "dispersal" means and they will tell you it is the process of spreading from one place to another. Students collected samples that might: be carried by the wind; be hitchhikers; attract animals; float on water; or pop or shoot out. Students also observed any specialized structures the seeds might have in order to disperse in their special way. Then back in the lab, the students selected several samples from the wind category and tested them to see how far they would travel. They used seeds like the dandelion, thistle, and milkweed. Seeds were tested 3 times and then an average was taken. Using the average distance, students were then able to rank order the seeds from longest distance traveled to shortest distance. By the end of the seed walk and dispersal labs, students were able to describe different ways that plants can get their seeds to new places, and why it is impertant for a plant to disperse, or move, its seeds around.