Supplementary materials
About Plants to Enjoy with the Five Senses
We selected plants that could be enjoyed through each of the five senses, prepared them in pots, and brought them in. The experiential learning activities were organized into three corners: touching, smelling and tasting, and practical uses in daily life (seeing, listening, playing, etc.). Large leaves, such as banana leaves, were cut in advance at the botanical garden and brought in. Labels showing the plant names included illustrations such as “fluffy” and “rough” to make them easier to understand and more approachable.
Main plants and tools brought in
Touch
- Cotton
- Banana (leaves, flowers)
- Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides)
- Haworthia cooperi and several other species
- Gasteria trigona and several other species
- Artemisia schmidtiana
- Lophophora diffusa
- A species of Asparagus
- A species of Mammillaria
- Alpinia intermedia
- Lamb’s ear (Stachys byzantina)
- Plectranthus amboinicus
- Several species of Aloe
- A species of Crassula
- A species of Adiantum (Maidenhair fern)
- A species of Sansevieria
- A species of Kalanchoe
- A species of Echeveria
- A species of Kleinia
- A species of Tibouchina urvilleana
- Others, including succulents and cacti
Smell and Taste
- Vanilla
- Rosemary
- Mint
- Lavender
- Lemon verbena
- Garlic vine
- Pink Jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum)
- Rose geranium
- Sugar cane
- Grapefruit
- Ponderosa lemon
- Pineapple (observation only)
- Coffee tree (observation only)
Useful in daily life
- Maracas (made by filling plastic bottles with nandina berries, acorns, tea seeds, etc.)
- Weight comparison of different woods (lignum vitae, balsa, Japanese species, etc.)
- Soapberry (foaming plant)
- Honey locust (foaming plant)
- Model paper airplane made of balsa
- Xylophone made from various types of wood
- Loofah