Materials Required:
l Leaves
l Newspaper
l Books
l Scrap paper
l Hammer
Procedure:
- Collect several kinds of leaves and place them between the folds of a newspaper. Then put some heavy books on top. Keep the leaves here for a few days, until they become dry and brittle.
- After the leaves have dried out, remove one from the newspaper and place it between sheets of scrap paper. Then use a hammer to gently pound the entire leaf area.
- Remove the top sheet of paper and lift the leaf by its stem. You are holding a leaf skeleton.
This Is What Happens:
After being dried out and pounded, most of the plant cells have crumbled and fallen away, leaving only the veins. While the leaf was alive and growing, these veins transported food and water within the plant, and provided the leaf with a solid framework. Make leaf skeletons from the other leaves you collected and notice how their shapes differ.
