Journey North International Plant Study Spring 2009

Tulip Test Gardens

Update: April 2, 2009

Welcome to the Journey North Tulip Garden Study!

A Treasure Trove of Tulip Garden Data Lies Inside this Fence
See Today's Lesson >>
Credit: Judy Molnar

Maps and Highlights

Signs of spring reports are flooding in from all across the continent. Citizen scientists are reporting great blue herons in ME, pussy willow buds swelling in NB, goldfinches in the process of getting their yellow plumage in MN, and first spring peepers peeping in PA. Is the tulip garden experiment getting YOU outside to observe the small signs of spring in your schoolyard?

Here are a few more garden comments this week:

"Our first blooms have really taken a beating. The edges of the petals are frayed and bleached out. They seem to be hiding from the cold and snow down in the protection of the leaves. In spite of their struggle it is still a joy to see them." Denver, CO 03/30/09 (Denver received over a foot of snow last week.)

"It's a rainy day on the farm and we have had thunder and lightning this morning. The first journey north tulips of '09 peeking out of the leaf mulch - they look positively happy to be up and about! temp today +5 and more rain predicted this evening and tomorrow. all snow is gone from the yard and the bush." Madoc, ON03/29/09

map/sightings
(North America)

map/sightings
(Eurasia)

map/sightings
(Asia)

Study this map showing extreme minimum temperatures across the US Mar. 22-28. (What does "extreme minimum" mean?) Where were the coldest temperatures? How might this affect what we see on this week's tulip garden map?

Think about the weather map (above) as you answer this Week's Map Questions (Handout)

Try This: Analyzing 11 Years of Tulip Garden Data

Back in 1098 the Virginia Living Museum’s Children’s Learning Garden joined the Journey North Tulip Garden Study. The after-school program planted, tended, and reported each year.

Brush up on your math skills using this authentic data from Newport News, VA. Look for trends, calculate mean and median, and write a summary sentence about this important set of data.

11 Yrs of Garden Data >>

Spotlight on the Classroom: Technolgy Detailing

Benjamin Franklin Middle School
In Rocky Mount, VA, students used VoiceThread technology to record and detail their tulip garden experiment for the second year. Now they can share their project through the internet.

Again this year, we used the web 2.0 tool, VoiceThread, to post and share our Journey North Tulip project. Click on the link to view our work in progress.

VoiceThread Tulip Garden Project >>

Check out VoiceThread >>

Related Journey North Lessons and Links

Frequently Asked Questions: Tulip FAQs and Ask the Expert Questions and Answers >>
OPEN: Ask the Tulip Garden Expert >>
VoiceThread : Visit a Garden Experiment >>
Chart: How Does Your Garden Grow? >>
Tulip Garden Journals (click-and-print) >>

Please report:
1. Tulips PLANTED
2. Tulips EMERGED
3. Tulips BLOOMING

Click this on any page.

More Journey North Lessons and Teaching Ideas!

The Next Tulip Garden Update Will Be Posted on April 9, 2009.