Barnhart 5th Graders Learn All about the Water Cycle

Article and Photos courtesy of BARNHART SCHOOL MARCH 3, 2022

Rainmakers! Barnhart 5th graders learned all about the Water Cycle. They made mini models to show Transpiration from plants in Water Cycle Terrariums. Transpiration is the evaporation of water through minute pores, or stomata, in the leaves of plants. For practical purposes, transpiration and the evaporation from all water, soils, snow, ice, vegetation, and other surfaces are lumped together and called evapotranspiration, or total evaporation. The young students learned how transpiration helps plants by cooling them down, much like how sweating helps us regulate our body temperatures. Transpiration also plays a big role in helping water move around the plant by changing the water pressure in plant cells. This helps minerals and nutrients move up the plant from the roots.