Pumpkin Science … Rotting Pumpkin

We had a little pumpkin drama on the day Little M brought her pumpkin home. No need to point fingers (since the only innocent party was me).

When the pumpkin cracked, there were tears… and consequences were doled out… but then I had an idea. Why let this sad experience go to waste?

Why not turn it into a pumpkin science experiment? A rotting pumpkin science experiment, in fact! We love an opportunity for exploring the scientific method with children.

Rotting Pumpkin Science

That is just what we did. I brought out our nature journal, and we made a few initial observations. We also talked about what we thought would happen to our pumpkin.

While doing this experiment, I used scientific words. We recorded our hypothesis, data, and even the conclusion.

Day 1…

Day 3…  I asked M and M about what they saw, felt and smelled. They loved that part! Especially Little M who loves anything messy.

Day 5…I asked M and M to record their observations by drawing pictures of what they saw.  (It’s so exciting to use a sharpie!) For older kids this would be a great way to get in some extra writing practice.

Day 10… I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to stand it.  This one might be a little too gross for me. Kids Activities Blog tried a rotting pumpkin and made it until the bugs came… yikes I don’t know if I could do that!  I love the individual science journal. I’m thinking the kids might get field journals in their stockings this year.

This rotting pumpkin experiment would be great in a preschool pumpkin unit study. Homeschool Helper Online has a full one!

For more Halloween activities for kids, visit Halloween lesson plan.

Have you ever tried letting a pumpkin rot? How did it go for your family? If you haven’t tried it, is this the year?