Autumn is the perfect time of year to learn about pumpkin life cycles.
You can find pumpkins at farmer's markets, grocery stores, and roadside
stands. And... you can even find them in coffees, teas, bread, pies,
soups, muffins, and more! Since pumpkins seem to be everywhere and in
everything during this time of year, it makes sense to incorporate pumpkin
life cycles into your science lessons in the fall instead of waiting until
spring when other plant concepts are taught. Keep reading to learn about a
fascinating pumpkin life cycle STEM activity and a popular children's book you
can use as a part of your science lessons!
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All photos in this post are used with the permission of Blakeley Kantor.
Pumpkin Life Cycle
Before starting this STEM activity with your students, it's important to
introduce the phases of a pumpkin life cycle to them. There are many
ways to teach these phases, so feel free to teach them in a way that works
for you and your students. Just be sure your students are familiar
with these vocabulary words:
- seed
- seedling, sprout
- adult plant
- vine, blossom
- green pumpkin
- orange pumpkin
- life cycle
- vine, leaves, roots, stem, blossom
Other important vocabulary words to review for this STEM activity
include:
- harvest
- germinate
- germination
- decompose
- compost
- fungus
Reading Pumpkin Jack
After reviewing the phases of a pumpkin's life cycle, get your students
excited by reading Pumpkin Jack by William Hubbard to
them. Pumpkin Jack is about a pumpkin that was discarded
outside once Halloween was over. Throughout the story, readers see
the changes the pumpkin went through as it rotted and how seedlings
emerged from it in the spring. Pumpkin Jack is the
inspiration for this STEM experiment.
About Pumpkin Jack
Author Summary: The first pumpkin Tim ever carved was fierce and
funny, and he named it Jack. When Halloween was over and the pumpkin was
beginning to rot, Tim set it out in the garden and throughout the weeks he
watched it change. By spring, a plant began to grow! Will Hubbell's gentle
story and beautifully detailed illustrations give an intimate look at the
cycle of life.
🍎 Title: Pumpkin Jack
🍎 Author: Will Hubbell
🍎 Illustrator: Will Hubbell
🍎 Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
🍎 Date: January 1, 2000
🍎 Pages: 32
Pumpkin Life Cycle STEM Activity
Now that you've introduced the phases of the pumpkin life cycle to your
students and read Pumpkin Jack to them, it is time to plunge into this
pumpkin science and STEM activity!
You Will Need
- a small pie pumpkin
- a large plastic or glass container with a tight-fitting lid. (This is a good time to reuse the container your animal crackers came in!)
- potting soil
- clear packing tape
- exacto knife
- water
Step One: Getting Everything Set Up
Take the large plastic container and cut a hole large enough to fit your small
pumpkin through. Save that piece. Add several inches of planting
soil to the bottom of the container and spritz with water until damp. Do
not saturate the soil. Place the pumpkin in the container and replace
the top of the container. You may need to use packaging tape to
fasten it in place.
Step Two: Letting Mother Nature Do Her Thing
Your pumpkin will need warmth and water in order to decompose. The
warmer the air and soil get in the container, the faster your pumpkin will
rot. Place the container in a warm area of your classroom and leave it
be. Don't open it unless you absolutely have to. Opening it will
allow the warm air and moisture to escape from it... which will make it take
longer for the pumpkin to decompose.
Step Three: Ewww
Throughout the autumn and winter, you will see the pumpkin go through the
phases of decomposition. Fungus and will grow on it and spread to the
soil. As the fungus decomposes the pumpkin, the pumpkin will change
colors, shrink, and eventually disintegrate into the soil. All of this
is normal... kind of gross... but normal.
Step Four: New Growth
Once the pumpkin has disintegrated into the soil, it's time to open the
container and let the fresh air in. (May I suggest doing this
outside? This will be really smelly!) Cover the remains of the
pumpkin and the seeds with planting soil. Spritz the soil with water
until it's damp, replace the top, and wait. In a week or so, you should
see little seedlings emerge!
Step Five: A Mature Plant
After you see seedlings begin to emerge, you can remove and discard the top of
the container. Keep the container in a sunny window so the seedlings can
grow. Water the seedlings as needed and watch your seedling become
mature plants!
If there are too many seedlings in the container, you can thin out the
smallest ones to make room for the others. Don't throw those small ones
out! You can transplant them into paper cups for your students to grow
at home.
Step Six: Transplanting the Pumpkin Plants
Eventually, the pumpkin plants will outgrow the container they're in and will
need to be transplanted. Depending on the type of pumpkin you used for
this activity, its vines can grow up to 20 feet long! Carefully remove
the plants from the container and transplant them into the ground... far away
from the playground... or to a raised garden bed. Continue to water and
care for the plants as needed. Depending on when your school year ends,
you may be lucky enough to see some yellow blossom on the plants.
Additional Resources
🍎 Farmer Christiana from
Jones Family Farms
talks about the pumpkin life cycle and reads Pumpkin Jack in the video
below:
Did you enjoy learning about this pumpkin life cycle activity? If so,
check out these blog posts about more STEM projects:
