Hello from Roosevelt Middle School of the Arts, Milwaukee, WI

I have 140 - 8th grade students that helped plan the experiments and plant the tulips. My students came up with many experiments. They all started with the same dependent variable. We changed the independent variable based on the student ideas.
We planted 200 tulips in our experiments and in our official Journey North garden. -Megan Ferger

Here are some student experiments:

Which tulips will emerge first and grow the tallest:

  • bulbs planted with a slice of bread, tulip bulbs planted with roast beef, or tulip bulbs planted with orange slices?
  • bulbs buried with coffee grounds, eggs, or apple slices?
  • bulbs soaked in water for 5 min and put in the freezer for 10 hours or tulip bulbs soaked in water for 5 min and heated (in water) for 10 min?
  • bulbs buried at depth of 4in, 7in, or 10in?
  • bulbs buried in the sun or in the shade (under a tree)?
  • bulbs watered with lake water, river water or tap water?
  • buried with fertilizer or those without fertilizer?
  • watered with lemon juice, vinegar, or tap water?
  • bulbs wrapped in aluminum foil (with holes in it) or plastic wrap (with holes in it)?
  • bulbs that are broken or whole tulip bulbs?
  • bulbs buried right side up, upside down, or sideways?

 
 
 

We planted 200 tulips in our experiments and in our official Journey North garden.
We measured our tulips on 3/20/07. There heights varied from 0.8cm to 6.2cm. Our soil is a bit rocky, but my 140 students were excited to see their growth.
Our experimental beds suggest the bulbs like to be buried with coffee, eggs, and roast beef. These are the tallest.