Compare Pumpkins

• Help elementary students develop scientific inquiry and exploration skills by having them compare three different pumpkins. Students should use measuring tapes to measure how tall each pumpkin is and how big around it is, weigh the pumpkin on a scale and count the number of lines on each pumpkin. This information can be recorded in a teacher-created chart. Students can practice prediction and estimation skills by guessing how many seeds are inside the pumpkin before opening it. Ask them to visually estimating how many seeds there are before counting the exact number of seeds.
  
  

Pumpkin Cycle

• Students can learn about a plant's life cycle by creating a pumpkin cycle book. Include a page and drawing to represent the seed, sprout, plant, flower, green pumpkin and orange pumpkin stages. Older students can create the pages themselves. For younger students, teachers can print out the pages for students and allow them to glue them in the correct order and color the book.
  
  

Grow a Pumpkin

• Open a small pumpkin and allow it to decompose in the classroom. Place the pumpkin in a large plastic container filled with potting soil, with holes for drainage. Assign students to make daily observations of the pumpkin as it decomposes. Plant a few seeds from the pumpkin in the soil and water them regularly to watch new life come from the decomposing pumpkin.
  
  

Decomposing Pumpkins

• Put a miniature pumpkin in a large plastic bin with a lid and place it in a warm, bright area. Place another pumpkin in a large plastic bin in a dark, cool area. Have students predict which pumpkin will decompose first. Students will watch the pumpkins decompose, writing down daily or weekly observations in a science journal to determine which pumpkin decomposes first.
  
  

Visit a Pumpkin Patch

• In the fall, many farms that grow pumpkins hold programs for school groups. Have students visit the pumpkin patch to learn firsthand from a pumpkin farmer about the life cycle of a pumpkin. Students can pick out their own pumpkin to purchase and take home. Many pumpkin patches also offer a variety of pumpkin-based foods and products for students to purchase and try.