Easy DIY Mini Greenhouses

Planting and watching seeds grow is a fantastic spring science activity for children. Kids can start with a bean or seed in a jar to watch it germinate, observe seedlings and finally become a fully grown plant.

Vegetable or herb seeds work well, as they can be eaten afterwards!

A common problem when growing plants is insects, slugs and snails eating them. One way to protect plants from pests is to put them in a greenhouse. If you don’t have a large greenhouse, you can make a mini version inexpensively using a plastic bottle or cup. Greenhouses also help protect plants from the cold.

Building a mini greenhouse is a great activity for learning the conditions needed for seeds to grow into healthy plants. It also offers opportunities for observing, describing, measuring, and recording data.

Make a DIY Mini Greenhouse

You’ll need

Sellotape

Seeds or seedlings

Ideas for greenhouse materials

Empty clean plastic bottle

Empty clear CD cases

Plastic cup or container

Instructions

First, you need to design your mini greenhouse. Think about its properties: It must let air and sunlight in and keep rain and wind out.

Once you’ve designed your greenhouse, have a go at making it.

Greenhouse Design Sheet

Use my free greenhouse design sheet to design and evaluate your greenhouse!

FREE STEM Challenge Greenhouse Design Pack

Greenhouse ideas

Mini greenhouse made with a plastic bottle

greenhouse made from two plastic cups and tape

Most plants need light and water to grow. Plants use light energy from the Sun to make energy, a process called photosynthesis.

Questions to think and talk about

How big should your greenhouse be?

Where should you put the greenhouse? Think about the conditions a plant needs to grow.

How could you improve the design of your greenhouse? Can you find a way to let air in while keeping insects out?

Can you spot roots and leaves?

Extra Challenges

Create labels for your plants, think about how to make them waterproof.

Make a rain gauge using a plastic bottle.

Grow a cress caterpillar! If you grow some cress in the light and some in the dark, you’ll find the leaves of the plant grown in the dark are yellow. This is because they can’t make chlorophyll ( the green pigment ) without light.

Have a bean race with friends to see who can grow the tallest bean.

Learn about the structure and function of flowering plants with a plant dissection.

Plants need moisture, air, and the correct temperature to germinate. A hands-on way to learn about germination is to grow a bean in a jar.