Although science is a core subject, educators at Uphall Primary School have found in recent times pupils do not display the same enthusiasm for science as they do for other subjects. In order to raise the pupils' science capital and generate an eagerness among the pupils to experiment, learn and develop their curiosity about the world around them,…

This randomized controlled trial or "true experiment" examines the effects of a school garden intervention on the science knowledge of elementary school children. Schools were randomly assigned to a group that received the garden intervention (n?=?25) or to a waitlist control group that received the garden intervention at the end of the…

The notion of plant-blindness, the inability of humans to notice plants in their environment, has been much examined. Similarly, plant scientists have criticised the seemingly zoocentric focus of a biological education, which appears to neglect plants. Furthermore, there are stark contrasts between the active plant behaviours evidenced in current…

This article describes a hands-on science curriculum used to teach kindergarten students about decomposition at the Riverdale Country School in the Bronx, New York. The goal was to get students to spend more time in the natural world and to have the opportunity to literally "get their hands dirty." This was premised on the idea that the…

Fourth-grade students at Cutchogue East Elementary School in Cutchogue, New York learned about dependence on natural resources for survival on a visit to Downs Farm Preserve at Fort Corchaug. This is a slice of preserved land just eight minutes beyond the classroom walls. Its inhabitants date back to the first hunting and gathering settlers--the…