growing seeds science experiment

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Bean in a jar

April 30, 2012 By Emma Vanstone 13 Comments

This germination investigation is very simple but fascinating. Did you know you can grow a bean in a jar with just a little water? Germination is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed.

What is germination?

Three factors are important for germination .

Water – seeds need water for germination to occur. When a seed absorbs water, it starts to swell up, the outer coat of the seed cracks and roots start to grow through.

Oxygen – oxygen is needed for a plant to grow (oxygen is needed for respiration to occur ). Seeds buried too deeply in the soil won’t grow.

Temperature – the temperature can be important ( warm or cold ) depending on the type of seed.

Once a seedling has used all the nutrients from the seed, it then needs to take nutrients from the soil. Once your seed has germinated and grown a little bit, you’ll need to transfer it into a pot of soil.

Light is not needed for germination but is needed for a plant to grow.

Roots grow downwards to anchor the plant in the ground and find nutrients, and shoots grow upwards to find light.

How to grow a bean in a jar

What you need.

• A broad bean seed
• Kitchen roll or a napkin

Instructions

• Swirl a small amount of water around the jar.
• Fold your napkin or kitchen roll and place it in the jar ( we made the kitchen roll very slightly damp also ).
• Place the bean seed in the jar resting on the napkin.
• Spray some water on the bean every few days.

The bean should start to grow roots after a few days. This is called germination.

We kept one bean in the dark and one in the light. Both seeds germinated and grew into small bean plants. This shows that light is not necessary for germination .

You can see here that the plant grown in the dark is slightly less green than the one grown in the light. We have seen this before when growing cress .

What amazes me the most is that all this can grow from one tiny seed with no additional nutrients other than those contained in the bean itself.

After a few days in the light, the bean plant kept in the dark was as luscious a green colour as its counterpart.

Bean in a jar instructions

Download the instructions completely free.

More plant science

Little ones will enjoy growing a bean for Jack and the Beanstalk.

Inspiration Laboratories has a lovely plant science experiment growing seeds in different soil types , such as sand and stones.

Playdough to Plato has a gorgeous sprout house !

Another idea is to dissect a plant or try one of our other fun plant science experiments for kids .

Suitable for:

Key Stage 1 Science – Plants

Identify and describe the basic structure of a variety of common flowering plants, including trees.

Last Updated on March 29, 2023 by Emma Vanstone

Safety Notice

Science Sparks ( Wild Sparks Enterprises Ltd ) are not liable for the actions of activity of any person who uses the information in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources. Science Sparks assume no liability with regard to injuries or damage to property that may occur as a result of using the information and carrying out the practical activities contained in this resource or in any of the suggested further resources.

These activities are designed to be carried out by children working with a parent, guardian or other appropriate adult. The adult involved is fully responsible for ensuring that the activities are carried out safely.

Reader Interactions

April 30, 2012 at 8:52 am

You keep coming up with really inspiring ideas. Thankyou!

May 04, 2012 at 7:39 pm

So glad you like them!

April 30, 2012 at 12:53 pm

I love this idea. It is so much better than the ziploc bag on the window. (Maybe it is just me, but those always get so nasty. Plus it would be great to have where the students could see actually grow and record the height. Love it.

May 04, 2012 at 7:41 pm

oooh yes, what a good idea!

May 02, 2012 at 10:17 pm

It is fascinating and beautiful! We have to try this!

It was great! and so simple x

May 06, 2012 at 8:29 pm

We love this activity. Ours is growing strong and we’re going to try transferring into the soil and growing further now

Thank you for linking to Tuesday Tots this week

May 07, 2012 at 2:26 pm

love this idea.. will find some jars x

May 11, 2012 at 3:01 am

How fun!! I love the lessons where they get to see the roots that would be underground. Thank you for sharing at Sharing Saturday! I hope you are having a great week!

March 08, 2013 at 6:55 pm

Ooh great way to use my jars! Now to get some beans x

March 08, 2013 at 8:28 pm

We grew a bean in a glass Mason jar for each kid a couple months ago. Can you believe they ate still thriving? One even grew a bean pod with beans in it. I should transfer them to a pot with soil.

April 10, 2013 at 6:14 pm

I would like to know just why this works. Why is the one kept in the dark white? I know it has something to do with light. And why did it grow faster that the one in the light? Thank you!

April 23, 2020 at 10:28 am

Hi there, can you use any seed for this?

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