Growing beans in a bag is an easy and engaging way for young children to learn some of their first lessons in plant biology! Each day they can check the progress of their seeds and watch as they change from tiny seeds to plants with roots and a stem. Growing seeds in a bag is the perfect kitchen science experiment or spring science experiment to do at home or in the classroom.
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If you enjoy growing beans in a bag you are going to LOVE my new book, AWESOME SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS FOR KIDS. It contains over 100 colorful and creative STEAM activities for kids ages 5-10. I wrote it with parents and grandparents in mind so the instructions are simple and the experiments only require supplies you probably already have at home.
The bean in a bag is one of the 35 experiments in the Science chapter of the book!
How to Grow Beans in a Bag
The kids were so excited to learn how to grow a seed in a ziplock bag! We gathered a few simple items to start our bean experiment:
- A plastic zip top baggie (We used a sandwich size baggie, but a quart-size baggie works, too.)
- One paper towel
- A few bean seeds (We used dry pinto beans from the pantry.)
Getting everything set up for growing seeds in a bag was super easy.
First we folded up the paper towel so that it fit easily inside the plastic baggie. I got it wet and slipped it into the baggie.
I grabbed a few dry pinto beans from the pantry and placed them inside the baggie right on top of the paper towel. Any variety of dried bean should work (pinto, black, lentil, navy, etc.). Green bean seeds can also be purchased at a gardening store.
We sealed the plastic baggie shut and set it on the counter for observation over the next couple of weeks.
Bean Experiment for Kids
We checked our growing beans in a bag each day to see how they were changing.
The kids noticed right away that there was quite a bit of condensation inside the baggie. It was like we created our own little greenhouse for our plant in a bag!
After about 5 days we noticed that one of the seeds started to germinate! It was so cool to see a little shoot poking out from the seed coat.
After a few more days we noticed that more of the seeds were sprouting. We could see the roots grow and spread out across the paper towel. It was so cool to see how the seeds changed and grew every day. Since our baggie was clear and the roots were right on top of the paper towel, we got a very unique and detailed look into how seeds sprout and grow!
We kept our growing beans in a bag for about two weeks. By then a few of the bean plants grew so tall they started pushing up against the plastic baggie!
After two weeks we pulled the paper towel out of the baggie to get a better look at the root systems and the growing stems. The paper towel dried out quickly and our little plants died within a day. I guess we could have tried to transfer the seedlings into dirt to see if they would grow some more, but this time around we were just interested in watching them sprout. Maybe next time. 🙂
For more botany and spring science activities be sure to check out Color Changing Flowers from Schooling a Monkey and Montessori Inspired Botany for Kids from Natural Beach Living.
And for 13 more spring learning activities, keep scrolling down!
More Spring Science for Kids –>
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
Editable Spring Sight Word Game // Letters of Literacy
Spring Color by Sight Word // Sara J Creations
Spring 5 Senses Mini Book // The Primary Post
Flowers CVC Word Building Freebie // A Dab of Glue Will Do
Spring Read-Write-Build Alphabet Mat // Fun-A-Day
Flower Roll and Cover Mats // Fun Learning for Kids
Roll and Graph Spring Math Activity // The Kindergarten Connection
Spring Letter Recognition Game // Stay at Home Educator
Spring Tree Fine Motor Math // Fantastic Fun and Learning
Bird Life Cycle Puzzles // Liz’s Early Learning Spot
Growing Beans in a Bag // Science Kiddo
Spring Patterning Activities // Fairy Poppins
Flower Color Matching // Teach Me Mommy
I LOVE THIS WEBSITE BECAUSE I HAVE A 6 YEAR OLD GRANDDAUGHTER WHO I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF HELPING WITH HER SCIENCE EXPERIMENT AND THIS DO HAVE PROJECTS THAT ARE AGE APPROPRIATE. THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT IDEAS AND THE ITEMS FOR THE PROJECTS ARE COST EFFICIENT DUE TO THE FACT THAT MOST OF THE STUFF I ALREADY HAVE AT HOME.
Did you need to leave the bags in the sun?
You can put them in the sun or forget them in a drawer! The seed will germinate anywhere 🙂
We are going to try the bean in a bag.
I am going to try the bean in a bag.
Can the bean sprouts be eaten?
I don’t see why not!
I actually did this experiment in my Methods of STEM K-5 class and I thought it was an awesome activity. I am excited to do it with my class next year!
Did you need to water the beans in the bag after the first day?
Nope, if you keep the bag closed it will be wet enough in there!