This autumn leaves preschool science activity support critical thinking with science and sensory play for your early learners. Explore leaves with this simple science experiment.
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Inspire exploration and discovery with this autumn leaves preschool science activity. This experiment helps kids observe and document changes in leaves during the fall season.
The changing colors of leaves on the trees and bushes announce the new season. You might observe leaves twirling to the ground on a windy day. Rake a few into a pile for jumping into, and for using in crafts like this color sorting activity.
Or collect some on a nature walk for this autumn leaves preschool science activity.
Autumn leaves preschool science
Science activities with natural materials offer textures, smells and colors for kids sensory experiences. There’s lots of sensory experience going on in this leaf science activity with heavy books, crunchy leaves, and brilliant fall colors!
We are fortunate to live near a wooded area, which means we have a great supply of leaves!
The maple trees are especially beautiful as the leaves change color in the fall.
Set up the leaf experiment.
- Collect two yellow leaves and two red leaves of similar size.
- Choose two heavy books as weights, and plain white paper for charting results.
- Create a simple chart on the plain paper to observe and record results.
Here’s a free printable chart you can use to do the daily observations.
You can also create a visual timeline by taking a picture each day and displaying the photos in the science center.
Conduct the experiment.
- Place a yellow leaf and a red leaf between the two heavy books.
- Place a yellow leaf and a red leaf on a table or shelf in open air.
- Allow the leaves to remain in place overnight.
Day 1
1. Remove the leaves from between the books.
Compare these leaves with the ones left in the open air overnight.
Make your observations:
Do the leaves look/feel/smell the same or different?
2.Return the leaves to their previous location between the books.
Leave the remaining two leaves in the open air.
Day 2
1.Remove the leaves from between the books.
Compare these leaves with the ones left in the open air overnight.
Make observations.
Do the leaves look/feel/smell the same or different?
2.Return the two leaves to their place between the books.
Leave the remaining two leaves in the open air.
Day 3
1.Remove the leaves from between the books.
Compare these leaves with the ones left in the open air overnight.
Make observations.
- How do the leaves differ in shape or color?
- Has the smell or texture of the leaves changed?
- Is there any difference in the results for a red leaf versus a yellow leaf?
Continue to observe the leaves for another day or two, placing the same leaves between two books overnight, while the same two leaves remain uncovered.
Discuss the results.
Observing autumn leaves with preschoolers prompts lots of questions and open-ended discussions, and more ways to experiment with the leaves.
1. What may have caused any changes in appearance?
Possible answers include:
- The weight of the book sealed it from the air, preventing it from curling up.
- The leaf in open air dried up when its water evaporated.
2. What would happen to the leaves that had been pressed between the books if left uncovered overnight?
Encourage kids to make predictions, then carry out the experiment.
3. Can the curled leaves be flattened if placed between two books?
Make predictions, then carry out the experiment.
4. Observe leaves outside, on the tree and on the ground.
- Do the leaves curl outside as they do inside?
- Did the leaf curl because it was brought inside?
- Do some types of leaves curl more than others?
Learn why leaves change color.
You can find lots of information online explaining why leaves change color and fall off the branches. Share information with your students or kids at home according to interests and skill levels.
Here are a few main points to consider.
1. Chemicals called pigments in the leaves of the trees give them their color.
Chlorophyll gives leaves a green color.
Carotenoids make leaves red, yellow and brown.
2. While leaves are green they make food for the tree, but when leaves receive less warmth from the sun as the weather cools, the chlorophyll in the leaves breaks down. Food becomes stored in the tree instead of in the leaves.
3. When there is not as much chlorophyll present in the leaves, the other colors, which have been there all along, now become more visible.
4. The tree creates a seal between itself and the leaf which prevents food an water from reaching the leaf. The leaf will dry up and fall to the ground, sometimes with the help of wind and rain.
Related: Why do leaves fall off trees?
5. Since the tree is now storing food all winter, it will be stronger in the spring to grow new leaves.
6. When leaves fall off the tree, they crumble and mix with other plants and sun and water to become mulch to fertilize the ground around the tree.
Explore autumn leaves with preschoolers.
The important outcome for any nature activity is interacting with the materials. The crunch of dried leaves, the weight of heavy books, and the interesting results of the experiment all stack up to make this a fun fall activity.
Invite kids to this autumn leaves preschool science activity to explore, observe, compare, and discover hands-on.
