Heads Together for Pumpkin Lab

Yesterday Mom and I joined Benny at his school for their annual fourth grade-wide Pumpkin Lab.  We didn't know for sure what a Pumpkin Lab was, we only knew it involved math and a request for lots of volunteers, and that it was a "tradition," and that it generated a lot of excitement.

The kids divided into groups of three.  Benny and his closest pals, Houston and Bennett, immediately grabbed each other and began jumping up and down, yelling with delight that they got to be together.

Then each group was given a pumpkin and supplies, along with a lengthy worksheet, and sent outside.

 They spread out the sheet and put their pumpkin on it.  Then they got to work.  They were asked to do a lot of estimating--how many centimeters is the circumfrence of your pumpkin?  They were asked to use a string to wrap around the pumpkin, then estimate the length.  They had to guess the weight.  They had to guess if their pumpkin would sink or float.  They needed to guess how many seeds would be inside, and how many ridges their pumpkin would have.

So for the next two hours, these three boys worked---

With their heads---

Together.

And I mean together.  They were so focused!

And not just heads, but hands, too.  For the record?  They guessed 217 seeds would be inside their pumpkin.  But they ended up with 472!  And in case you were wondering, yes, the pumpkin FLOATS. And yes, of COURSE they had to hurl it into the water bucket and create a massive splash and get themselves soaked.  It's all part of scientific research, after all.

They guessed eight pounds for their pumpkin, and it was 10.8.  Good guess!

The teacher gathered all the seeds, stating she planned to take them home and roast them and bring them back so everyone could sample pumpkin seeds. 

A good time was had by all, and there were a lot of parents there!  Also, it was "hat day" at school, so nearly everyone had on some kind of hat or another.  All in all, a great afternoon.  Love to see those kids so interested in their projects.   Thank heavens for dedicated teachers who know how to bring a little magic and fun to something as ordinary as math.

And thank heavens for eager fourth graders!