Tulip Garden Update: March 23, 2001 Today's Report Includes: Emerging on the Equinox Important Definations Snow on your Parade? Challenge Question #11 Puzzled by Observations Challenge Question #12 York Middle School Reporting In Which Comes First, the Tulips or the Leaves? Try This! This Flip Book Won't Flop Discussion of Challenge Questions #9 and #10 This Week's Data Gardens from all over are reporting "happenings!" Since our last report we have heard news that tulips are blooming in 8 more gardens, and we're chalking up 35 more gardens with emerging tulips! Be sure to report to us about your garden! See the special pictures below that will help you to define bloom and emerge in your garden. Tulips Blooming Tulips Emerged Emerging on the Equinox Excited students from all over the country are reporting that the Vernal Equinox brought spring to their gardens. We thought you would like to share their excitement: "Now that the snow has finally melted, we are delighted to see that our tulips have emerged. What perfect timing. It's the first day of spring!!!" Newburgh, NY "Wow! We didn't expect to see them so soon. The calendar says that it is spring. We guess it really is!" Montgomery, NY "Students on the "Green Team" from observed our 72 of our 110 bulbs, emerging - on the very first day of spring!" New London, CT "Tulips were sighted on the first day of spring. Snow melted off of the bed over the weekend--maybe the 17th or 18th." Park Rapids, MN "Tulips emerged today, the first day of Spring!! How appropriate." Kalamazoo, MI Important Definitions Emerging The first sign of the tulip leaves breaking the ground. (No matter how many tulips you plant, report the FIRST tulip to emerge.) (Photo: Jo Leland) Blooming The first time the flower opens and you can see the pistils and stamens inside. (Photo: Gayle Kloewer) Please keep these definations in mind when you report what is happening in your tulip garden this spring. Snow on your Parade Snowfall this year has been greater than average according to records kept for many years. This week we had another series of snowstorms drop up to six inches of snow in parts of North America. Study the two maps. Do you see the belt of new snow across the Appalachian Mountains? Snow also fell in parts of New England and the Rocky Mountains. Compare this weather map with the latest tulip map. Then see if you can answer these questions: Challenge Question #11: "Has spring reached the states where there was fresh snowfall this week? Will snow damage the tulips that are growing in these areas? Explain your answers." (To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.) Students Across the Continent Puzzled by Observation Again and again, many students had the same surprise this spring: "We still have snow on our tulip bed, but partial clearing. In the clearings we have 4 emerging tulips! Maybe more under the snow." Old Mission Peninsula School, Traverse City, MI "Our tulips began to emerge under the snow on February 28th. Now that the snow has melted somewhat we realize that yes, they did indeed begin to emerge that early. This has been a very snowy winter for us and yet our tulips are coming up earlier than ever!!" Mystic CT "After the snow melted (we got 12 inches of snow on March 6th) our tulips finally emerged!" Bruceton Mills, WV "The first green spears are just poking up through the snow. The second graders are very excited!" Briarwood, Rochester, NY "They are just emerging. They are planted in a shady area, and as of yesterday there were still patches of snow surrounding them. But they're up!" Mamaroneck, NY What is going on here? Could tulips that were buried under the cold, cold snow have been growing? After all, you were told in the Spring Fever lesson that tulips don't grow at all when temperatures are freezing. Challenge Question # 12: "Do you think tulips which are buried under the cold, cold snow could be growing? How do you explain this puzzling observation?" (To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.) York Middle School Reporting In Gayle Kloewer's Seventh Graders have been busy collecting data on their tulip projects. Running with the First Annual Microclimate Challenge This Challenge asked students to find a site that would be a perfect example of where NOT to plant tulips for the International Tulip Garden We wanted you to find a site that does not typify the climate in your area. It worked out great. Brett and Andy reported back to us with their results from a garden they planted next to their school building on the sunny west side. Take a look at the fantastic job they have done recording and photographing their results. York Middle School Microclimate Experiment Keeping Tabs on their Growing Degree Days Data Gayle also shared their other observations, "We have also compared our GDD's with last year as part of the tulip work this year. Last year through February, we had 92 GDD's by Feb. 29 and our tulips were up. This year we have had 1.5 GDD's and the tulips are nowhere in sight, except those by the building (from the microclimat experiment). Thought you might find that interesting, too!" Revisit the instructions for measuring and calculating Growing Degree Days Which Comes First, the Tulips or the Leaves? Leaf-out should occur sometime after your tulips emerge--but before they bloom. Is this true where you live? Here's an observation that only takes an instant to make: Look out the window and see if "leaf-out" has occurred. We define "leaf-out" as the moment the leaves on a tree are as large as a quarter. (This is also when the leaves are big enough to make full shade under the tree.) We hope to hear from your garden sites soon! Remember to report Leaf-Out in your area! Try This! This Flip Book Won't Flop Create a book that will speed up spring! You can create an illusion of time passing in your garden this spring with this fun book-art project. Record observations and measurements, and then use your best drawing skills to create a flip book with moving pictures. Take the book out to the garden as spring progresses, or use your notes to make scientific drawings in the classroom. When you are done you will have created a scientific and artistic memory of your Journey North tulip garden. Flip Book directions Blankets of Snow, Discussion of Challenge Question #8 In our last update, students in Fairbanks Alaska shared their data from a fun snow day activity. Their temperature measurements beneath the snow were really interesting. You can easily see that snow cover can keep the ground much warmer than the air. If you did your math correctly, you would have found that with each centimeter of snow depth the temperature increased about 0.4 degrees F (or 0.2 degrees C). Snow Cover Maps, Discussion of CQ #9 Last update we showed you a group of twelve snow cover maps of North America. If you studied them closely you discovered that January had the most percentage of snow cover on the continent and August was our least snowiest month of the year. How to Respond to Today's Challenge Question IMPORTANT: Answer only ONE question in each e-mail message. 1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge-tulip@learner.org 2. In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge Question #11 (or #12). 3. In the body of the message, answer ONE of the questions above. The Next Tulip Garden Update Will be Posted on April 6, 2001. Copyright 2001 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. 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