We’ve been collecting lovely Autumn leaves over the last few weeks and noticed how they seem to curl up and become crunchy after just a few days, so we thought we’d try a few different methods to try to preserve them.
How to preserve leaves
Materials
Fresh leaves
PVA glue
Sticky back plastic
Anything else you want to try
Method
Select three leaves of a similar size.
Paint one with PVA glue on both sides and leave to dry.
Cover one with sticky back plastic on both sides and press down gently to seal.
Leave one leaf as it is – this is the control
Observe the changes over a few days.
Results
We found our control leaf curled up and became crunchy after 3 days.
The PVA covered leaf stayed softer, but did curl up a little.
The sticky back plastic leaf remained flat.
Why do you think the leaves dry out?
Can you think of anything else we could try to preserve the leaves?
We used our new found knowledge to create some fun leaf people, hopefully preserving them in the sticky back plastic.
What do you think?
If you liked tis activity take a look at our huge collection of autumn and fall science ideas too!
If you’re in the UK and want to find some beautiful Autumn leaves take a look at leaf watch from The Forestry Commission which will help you find the most amazing colour displays in a forest near you or try some of these great Autumn activity ideas for children, we especially love the Autumn leaf crowns!
Annie at Fable & Folk
October 20, 2015 at 9:36 amOh these are so cute! I love the idea of making leaf men like this. One for half term next week me thinks! Thank you for joining in Emma x
Rohit Shitole
October 24, 2015 at 3:17 pmMaybe the leaf in plastic stayed soft because that leaf managed to keep it’s moisture. Just a guess, what do you think ?
Anyway nice article. Brings back old memories 🙂
Becky
October 27, 2015 at 2:27 pmoh I wish there was some special leaf preserve as prefer the PVA look but doesnt last. maybe you could invent one Emma!