National Watermelon Day
August 3rd is National Watermelon Day. Perfect timing as the harvest of watermelons is certainly in full swing in early August. Here are some Fun Facts about watermelon.
- It is believed that watermelon originated in the Kalahari Desert of Africa.
- The first known harvest of watermelon was in Egypt around 5,000 years ago.
- Watermelons were used like canteens for early explorers.
- Watermelons are appropriately named—nearly 92% water.
- 96 countries grow over 1,000 kinds of watermelon.
- One recipe tells you how to make watermelon rind pickles.
- The largest watermelon (according to the Guinness Book of Records) weighed in at 262 pounds.
Share these Fun Facts with students. See if they have some facts of their own.
Activities for kid…
This activity has two parts. Have students eat a slice of watermelon and save all of the seeds that they find in the watermelon (be sure that you don’t get seedless melons). After the students have eaten the melon, have a “seed spitting” contest. Give students three chances to “spit” the seeds, measuring the distance the seeds travel. I would suggest that you have paper or paper towels stretched out with markings for each inch. Give each student the number of inches that the seed they “spit” traveled. Have the students create a group graph to determine the winner.
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