Plant Science Experiment Inspired by Peter Rabbit

This month the Virtual Book Club for Kids is featuring The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. We were inspired by the garden to try a plant science experiment. We want to find out which plant will grow the best. Affiliate links are included in this post. Clicking on the book titles or covers will take you to Amazon.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

The Tale of Peter Rabbit is a classic story that I remember from my childhood. Peter Rabbit was told not to go to Mr. McGregor’s garden, but he didn’t listen. The temptation to explore was too great despite his mother’s warning that his father was put into a pie by Mrs. McGregor. The rest of the story follows Peter eating various plants in the garden and running from Mr. McGregor.

Plant Science Experiment – Which Plant Will Grow the Best?

Peter Rabbit was all over the garden. That got me thinking about the different soil conditions of the plants. Aiden and I set up and experiment to test which soil substrate will grow the best plant.

He grabbed some sand from his sand box and rocks from his rock garden. He filled a third cup with potting soil. We poked holes in the bottom of each cup to allow for drainage.

Friends of ours own a greenhouse. They were happy to give us some seedlings to experiment with. You could always start the experiment from seeds or germinate the seeds first and then move them to the different substrates.

After planting the seedlings, Aiden added water to each cup.

We noticed the cup with rocks did not hold the water very well at all.

We put plastic lids under each plant to catch any water that leaks out.

We placed the plants in our kitchen window. Aiden will water them and check on them each day. They will receive the same amount of water.

Which plant do you think will grow the best? Aiden suspects it will be the plant in the soil. The best plant growth will be determined by how quickly the plants grow (how tall), how big their leaves are, how healthy they look, and which produce flowers first.

We’ll be posting our progress on Instagram and will update this post when the experiment is finished.

More Ideas from the Virtual Book Club for Kids

See more activities inspired by The Tale of Peter Rabbit:

Rabbit Food Lettuce Wraps for Kids to Make from Rainy Day Mum
Bunny Color Sorting from Toddler Approved
The Tale of Peter Rabbit ABC Carrot Patch from Growing Book by Book
Name Tracing Bunny Fun from The Educators’ Spin On It
Carrot Number Matching Activity from 3 Dinosaurs
Peter Rabbit Sensory Bin from Still Playing School
Feed the Rabbit Activity from Mom Inspired Life
Peter Rabbit Paper Plate Pop-Up Garden from I Can Teach My Child
Bunny Treat Bags from Mama Miss
Carrot Painting Pre-Writing Practice from Preschool Powol Packets
Bunny Cracker Snack from The Pleasantest Thing

Also stop by the Virtual Book Club for Kids Facebook page to see what others are sharing!

Next month we’ll be featuring Corduroy by Don Freedman. See our entire Virtual Book Club for Kids book list here.

Storybook Science Series

This post is also a part of the Storybook Science series. Every day in March, bloggers will be sharing science activities inspired by a book. Be sure to follow along!

Subscribe to the Inspiration Laboratories weekly newsletter. Each issue has exclusive hands-on science explorations for children, a recap of our latest activities, and special resources selected just for you!