Leafy Water Play

Exploring waters' wondrous properties by observing beads of water on different leaves.

15+ minutes, Ages 2+

Let's explore waters' wondrous properties! I watched two kids pass beads of water back and forth on nasturtium leaves. Their curiosity of water drops was contagious as they worked together to combine the drops making them bigger and bigger, until they flowed over the leaf with a swoop. It's a mystery until you try it and then suddenly it's the most magical thing in the world. First grab a container of water, dropper or spray bottle and then go out and explore with leaves. Look around the garden, the park, or your neighborhood taking note of the water's behavior.  This activity can be adapted for a wide range of ages. With young kids simply access to water and a space with leaves will lead to curiosity, engagement and absolutely joyful play. With older kids, start by asking questions. Make a list of questions they have about the connection between water and leaves. Make a hypothesis. What do you expect will happen? You can introduce surface tension and cohesion and other properties that water exhibits.

My adventure started with nasturtium leaves but quickly evolved into trying to find other leaves that were similar.  I found miner's lettuce was a close comparison to nasturtium. Sometimes the back of leaves worked well. It was such an adventure, walking around guessing which leaves would make the water connect to itself in such a magical way!