Our yard is littered with acorns – both complete and crushed. The squirrels like to chuck these oak tree fruits from a high tree branch to break them up and get to the soft inside.

One of our children couldn’t understand why the squirrels would do that. So, we decided to grab a couple of complete ones to dissect and today I am sharing the process with you all!

How to Dissect an Acorn

Dissecting an object is a great way to learn more about it. Normally we think of preserved frogs and alike when we think of dissections, but it doesn’t have to always be so smelly!

Here are the steps to dissect an acorn:

Collect several complete acorns. If you have an older student, go ahead and collect several different types of acorns as well.
Have the students use a magnifying glass to make observations about the acorn.
Gently pull on and remove the cap. Then, let the students observe the top of the acorn.
Use a dull knife (adults only!) to crack open the tough outer shell and let the students observe the soft meat of the seed inside.

More Homeschool Science Activities

Here are a few more ideas for learning about science from the acorns you collected:

Sink and Float – Acorns typically float, but chances are your kids don’t know that yet! Grab a bowl full of water and let your kids toss an acorn in there to see what happens.
Planting Acorn Seeds – These directions from eHow will walk you through planting an acorn seed, so that you can sprout an oak tree.
Acorn Sorting – If you collect a whole bagful of acorns, which is usually what happens in our house, you can use these ideas for sorting them, which is another great way to work on observation skills!