Plants Help Keep a House Cool!

Two shoe boxes or small cardboard boxes

1. A reflector lamp with a one-hundred watt incandescent light bulb in it (you can also use the sun instead of a lamp)
2. Various types of plants in pots — small bonsai trees would work OK if you have one -- ask your folks first before using any of their plants.
3. Two good thermometers to measure air temperature. If you have a digital thermometer that measures inside temperature with an external sensor to measure outside temperature, that would work great!
4. Small can of black or dark-color paint and small can of white paint

This experiment is done in three steps. First you'll want to see if shading your "house" will keep it cooler. Then you'll want to see if painting the "house" different colors outside affects the temperature inside. Third you can combine the colored houses with or without shading.

Take both boxes and place them an equal distance from the lamp so that both of them get the same amount of light hitting them.
Put the thermometers inside the boxes.
Place plants between the lamp and one of the boxes so that the shadows cast by the plants cover most of the entire "house."
Turn on the lamp.
Measure the air temperature in each over a period of time. Which box has a higher temperature? Does the temperature change? Subtract or add plants�do the number of plants change the temperature of the shaded "house?"

Paint one of the boxes white and the other box black
Put both boxes and place them an equal distance from the lamp so that both of them get the same amount of light hitting them.
Put the thermometers inside the boxes.
Turn on the lamp.
Measure the air temperature in each over a period of time. Which box has a higher temperature? Does the temperature change?

Place plants between the lamp and one of the boxes so that the shadows cast by the plants cover most of the entire "house."
Turn on the lamp.
Measure the air temperature in each over a period of time. Which box has a higher temperature? Does the temperature change? Subtract or add plants or change the house they are in front of. Which house stays the coolest?