What happens to a rotting pumpkin?
What happens when you let a pumpkin rot? That was the question proposed by my son last year…so we decided to find out.
Rotting Pumpkin:
We carved our pumpkin & put it on the porch to greet visitors.
After a few weeks, our pumpkin, who Reese named Jack Rotty, began to get a little mushy. We got a tray for Rotty to sit on so he wouldn’t rot directly onto the porch. We made a journal to record our daily findings. We got to work!
Halloween Activity: Journal
Friday, 6:00pm
“Rotty is turning soft like a sponge. It’s got black mold. It’s getting eaten by a bug & looks black and not so good.”
September 13
September 14
Sunday, 7:15pm
“It’s rotten. It looks kind of ashy. His mouth is getting all rotten. I see a spider on the pumpkin. There is more mold today. I see bugs. They must be looking for food in Rotty. He feels soft.”
September 15
Monday, 6:30pm
“He’s rotten & smells like a dirt pile. His face is all gooey. You can see where I stuck my finger in. Look at all the pumpkin juice! The back is falling & tipping over. I wish Rotty would stay a little bit longer. His color is black & orange.”
September 17
Wednesday, 7:15pm
“He is rotten. He is smaller because he’s going down. Inside there’s a lot of mold! It smells like pumpkin to me…and dirt. I don’t see any bugs today. There’s a soft part on his head.”
September 21
Sunday, 7:15pm
“He’s so small! Not big & bumpy. You can still see where I put my finger. He’s decomposing. Part is soft from decomposing, but part is hard because it dried up. There’s a fly on him. He must eat the pumpkin. The back is sinking fast!”
September 22
Monday, 7:30pm
“He’s not like that anymore…not full. He looks like rotten eggs. He’s all brownish. Look inside…mold! He is small. I see a Junebug in there…it’s laying in Rotty. I see a fruit fly inside…lots of fruit flies!”
September 26
Friday, 3:00pm
“He’s not big & tall. He feels hairy. He’s dry. It’s called evaporate. Our guess was wrong. I thought he would turn into goo. We see fruit fly larva from Larva Land. No, really, they came from fruit flies.”
Pumpkin Faces:
We loved watching how the face of Rotty got grumpier and grumpier as it aged. This was a GREAT experiment to do together. It was Reese’s first chance at long term observation, and our record book helped keep track of the changes each time we looked. I had to put a note on Rotty that said “Please excuse our science experiment!” because I was afraid our dear UPS lady would think we’re nuts!
How do you decorate your pumpkins?
Doing it this year!!
Loved your experiment and logging of the process.
This is what happened when someone left a pumpkin to rot at my house. What a great surprise.
http://thesingingnurse.com/the-accidental-pumpkin-bush/
Click the link above or paste it in your browser to read the poem
Fall is fun isn’t it?
Blessings, We love Living Health, Ms. Dawn
already did that did the same exact exmirement BRO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is GREAT! I think I remember seeing it last year when ya’ll did it; but this is so detailed and great pirctures! In fact, I was laughing my head off as I scrolled down. GROOOOSSSSSSS! But so hilarious; and such a great project. I love love love it. We are TOTALLY doing it this year. Jack (8) will go CRAZY for this!!
I love his pictures! Journaling is such a great idea!
Love that you turned something that is normally a ‘groan task’ (i.e. who gets to throw out the rotting pumpkin) and turned it into a science project! So cool!
Great project, I may have to try this with my step grandson, who is 10. I’ll have to find out what they are doing in Science.
I would encourage you to do it with your grandson no matter what they’re doing in Science! It’s a fun way to see what really happens to those pumpkins after Halloween 🙂
I can’t help but think of you every time I see a rotting pumpkin…in a nice way :).
This is BRILLIANT! I loved reading Reese’s observations and can’t wait to try this with my kids when they’re a it older.
You’ll have to let us know how it goes!
What a great science experiment – I think mine are a little young at the moment but can’t wait till they are old enough to do something like this (may also use it when I return to teaching as a great science experiment)
This is fantastic! I love seeing the progression. And it’s so disgusting at the same time!
my three year old class observed our pumpkin from (2010) decompose, then germinate in the spring (2011), to produce our halloween pumpkin! They used powerful words to describe the process….gross, disgusting, ugly, shrinking, moldy, hairy, germinate, flower, vine, tendril. The pumpkin is about ready to harvest, a life cycle completed!
That is amazing! What a unique, meaningful experience you gave them. I guarantee they will remember much more about pumpkins & their growing cycle than if you had just read a book & done a cut-and-paste! And talk about learning dealyed gratification!
What a great, but simple idea! Poor Rotty. Thank you so much for linking up to Fun Sparks.
Emma @ScienceSparks
Big M threw Little M’s pumpkin… it broke (of course). After handing out the appropriate consequences I decided this pumpkin would NOT go to waste. We are on day three of our pumpkin experiment. It’s in a container and we just cut off the top of the pumpkin. The seeds are still in… I can’t wait to see what they think of the results. I have been taking pictures and writing in our family science journal. Having them keep their own picture records is a great idea. I think we’ll start that tomorrow!
fabulous photos of your experiment. I want to do this with my girls this year. They have been begging to see what happens to the pumpkin.
would love for you to link to the Sunday Showcase & share your creative fun! I hope to see you this week – http://momto2poshlildivas.blogspot.com/search/label/Sunday%20Showcase
Bern
OK ewwwwwww! But awesome!
Way cool, except for the fly wormy things. 🙂
😀 This is great! So educational!
When I was a Girl Scout leader, we did an experiment comparing different hand cleaning methods in which the girls handled apples and then we looked at them a week later. We wound up extending the observations for 2 more weeks because they were so interested in the development of the mold!
This seems so cool, I would love to do this with my little girl. She would love it;-)
That was the creepiest Halloween story so far! Great journaling!
What a fantastic idea! I love the fun science that appeals to all kids =-) Thanks for linking up at TGIF! Have a great weekend,
Beth =-)
This is the one blog which I visit from last two weeks and I really like this and it helps
Hello just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few of the images aren’t loading properly. I’m not sure
why but I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it in two different internet browsers and both show the same outcome.
That is awesome–the story of Pumpkin Jack in real life!