Tulip
Garden Update: February 17, 2006
Today's Report Includes:
Tricked
into Thinking It’s Spring?
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Do
YOU see a pattern emerging? |
So far a total
of 65 gardens have emerged. Were your tulips tricked into thinking it was
spring? After last week we know how fickle weather can
be this time of year! Gardeners with 2 feet of fresh snow in NY write, “The
tulips are saying that spring is coming but Mother Nature hasn't heard
them and is still throwing winter weather at us.”
After a warm January, gardeners in CT write, “Our class went outside
to observe in the courtyard yesterday and to our horror several of the
emperor tulips had emerged!” Read on to discover how this may have
happened.
It’s
news! The first tulips of 2006 have bloomed in Alabama. Check the map
and re-think your predictions. When will spring come to YOUR
garden?
A Treasure Trove of Maps
It's mid-February.
How does mid-February 2006 compare to other years? Is spring early or late
this year? Examine this treasure: Journey
North Tulip Garden maps for the past 7 years. Can you find a
map for each
year that best matches this week’s map?
To
respond to this question, please follow these instructions.
Take Your Questions to the Garden
Imagine
you are a tulip bulb underground. Draw a picture of yourself
and add all the things that will help you grow. Then, thinking like
a scientist, turn your ideas into questions. Finally, gather information
for your own research project in your Journey North garden.
Simply
print these journal pages to help you track your investigation.
National
Climate Map Detective
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Departure
from normal temperatures in January, 2006
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Weather
maps contain a surprising amount of information. Use your own private
eyes to uncover some of the details in this special map.
Then
try this challenging question:
Challenge
Question #4:
“ How much warmer/colder than average was your hometown in January, 2006?
What kinds of temperature effects made your January different from other years?”
To respond
to this question, please follow these instructions.
Record Keeping is Key to Solving Challenge Question
#2
Classrooms across North America are wondering if spring is arriving
earlier this year. We asked you, “How would you know if your
tulips emerged earlier than normal? How do scientists answer this
question?”
Ferrisburgh Central School fifth graders put some
thought into this and wrote,
“ We
would know if our tulips have emerged earlier than normal if
we had planted them before. Then we would compare them to when
they
have emerged in the past. We think that scientists answer
this question by using data from past years.”
Good
thinking Daniel H., TJ S., and Emily M!
Spotlight
on the Classroom: St. Patrick's
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St. Patrick students |
Red Ribbon Week is celebrated in many schools across North America.
Its focus is on developing and supporting ways to stay healthy
and drug free. One Journey North school found this to be a
perfect time for planting their Red Emperor tulip garden.
During Red Ribbon Week (10/24-10/28) students from St. Patrick's
School in Lincoln, Nebraska planted 150+ red tulip bulbs. Here
are some of the photos they sent.
Helpful Links
- Tulip
Garden Growth Chart
(List the events you will monitor
this spring.)
- Mapping Spring Tulip Garden Data
(A guide for your maps.)
- Click and Print a Ready-made Student Journal
(Grade level variety
available.)
The Next
Tulip Garden Update Will Be Posted on February 24, 2006. Copyright
1997-2006 Journey North. All Rights Reserved.
Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our
feedback form
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