Did you ever wonder what roots looked like when they are actually growing? Well your kids probably do too! Using Water-Keep Crystals, it is easy to create a very inexpensive visual example in which the kids can watch the entire process from germination to flower formation!

Any seed type will do from grass seeds to beans to pumpkins or cucumber seeds. The germination process can be followed over 2-3 days.

Six Simple Steps:

	Add 1/2 tsp. to large tall clear glass.
	Fill with water. Warm water will speed experiment.
	Let the crystals grow for 3 hours if cold water.
	Push one or two seeds down into center of the expanded crystals.
	Set in a dark location, out of direct sunlight.
	Let nature take its course! Check a couple times each day.

Variations

Grow the seeds in a mixture of polymer and soil. The soil/polymer mixture should be half soil and half polymer crystals that have already absorbed water. Try growing the same seeds that you planted in the soil/polymer mixture to seeds grown in just plain soil and to seeds grown in the polymer crystals swollen with a mixture of water and liquid fertilizer. Compare the growth at 2-day intervals for 1 or 2 weeks. Growing a plant in superabsorbent polymer crystals makes a great science fair project!