For this Year 6 science experiment you will need:

What To Do:

  1. Cut a hole (about the size of a coin) in one end of the box.
  2. Put a handful of potting mix in the end of the box opposite the hole.
  3. Put the potato on the soil.
  4. Put the 'obstacles'in the box, spreading them out a bit.
  5. Put the lid on, and place the box in a sunny place.
  6. Leave the box there for 4 weeks, then look inside.

What Happens:

The potato shoot has grown around or over the obstacles in the box and has reached the hole.

Why It Happenned:

Plants have cells which are sensitive to light. These cells show the plant which way to grow. The tiny bit of light which came into the shoe box caused the shoot to twist until it reached the light. Plants will always grow towards the light, even when they are buried deep in the soil. The potato shoot should logically be green, but it's white because the chlorophyll that makes it green can't be made inside the shoebox.