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Tree Ring Art

Tree Ring Art

Dendrochronology, the scientific process of determining a tree's age, will inspire students to create organic designs based on tree rings.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    Dendrochronology, or tree-ring dating, is a method of scientific dating based on the analysis of a tree ring's growth patterns. Have students learn about this technique, which developed in the early 20th century when astronomer A. E. Douglass discovered a correlation between tree rings and the sunspot cycle. How do growth rings form? What is the sunspot cycle? How is the age determination made? What are some of the benefits of dating pieces of found wood? What are some of the obstacles that make dating difficult? Note that a tree does not need to be cut down to observe the rings. Scientists can collect a sample with an instrument called an increment borer, which doesn't damage the health of the tree.

     

  • Step 2

    Have students look at images of tree rings. Ask them to note the varying widths, colors, and patterns and learn how each indicator provides different information about a tree and the climate of the period. For example, an especially wet year might result in broader ring, since the tree was able to grow more. A darkened area on a ring can be evidence of a wildfire, etc. 

  • Step 3

    Have students create art based on tree rings. They can cut a circular shape out of paper, then cut notches to simulate bark. They can then use markers to draw a series of organically shaped rings within the cross-section of the tree. Next they can color the rings. This can be done  realistically using shades of brown, tan, gray, and black. Or they might create fanciful, boldly colored rings by using vibrant colors.

  • Step 4

    When the artwork is complete, the drawings can be displayed on a "forest rings" bulletin board.

Standards

SCI: Ask questions that arise from careful observation of phenomena, models, or unexpected results to clarify and/or seek additional information.

SCI: Make observations and measurements to identify properties and patterns.  

Adaptations

Tree rings can not only determine the age of a tree, they can also tell a story about its life. Have students write a short story from the point of view of a tree. They can look up some trees that have been dated via dendrochronology. For example, there is a chestnut oak that started growing in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, in 1864. Its story might begin: "I am a stately giant with a long life. I started growing in the midst of the Civil War and watched as some civil rights giants such as Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. Du Bois came to the area. I saw that many other trees in the area were chopped down and used in the war effort and to power stoves for the townsfolk..."

Dendrochronology is one of the techniques scientists use to measure climate change. Have students explore how this is done and learn about other methods that show how climate has changed over time, including streamflow records, animal migration patterns, global sea level rises, etc.