Featured Activity

'Force' paperwhites
Forced paperwhites with different levels of alcohol controlling height

Paperwhites (Narcissus tazetta) are a great introduction to bulbs because they are easy to observe and don't require chilling to grow and flower. You can use them for a simple science fair project to make them grow shorter (and less likely to fall over) while still flowering abundantly.

Bulb Picture

Bill Miller and class after digging labyrinth

Cornell students plant a bulb labyrinth. Read More

Bulb Quote

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.

-- Chinese Proverb
More Quotes

Welcome to the Bulb Project

Activities: Creative plans for educators.

Growing Bulbs: How-to information.

Resources: Additional information to help you plan and execute your bulb activities.

Retail partners: Information for bulb project collaborators.

Share ideas: Read how others have used these activities, and contribute your own ideas.

Inspired by Bulbs! Grant Opportunity

Application deadline:  July 3.

Tell us how your school or organization will use flower bulbs creatively in educational programs with children and youth.

The 10 best applicants will receive $250-worth of bulbs for their programs.
More information

This site features creative projects to help educators share the joys of growing flower bulbs with children and youth, and use bulbs to help teach science, art, history and other subjects.

The activities can be used in many settings, including the classroom, after-school programs, home schooling, 4-H, community projects and other formal in informal educational settings.

We also include resources to help you forge partnerships with local retailers and garden centers who can share their expertise and serve as a source of flower bulbs for you project. (There are also resources to help retail partners publicize their collaborations.)

We also invite you to share your experiences with these activities and contribute new ideas for how to use bulbs in various educational settings through the site's blog, and read how others have used the activities. Click on the Interact link for each activity and resource to read more.

Tuber Talk

Last chance: Inspired by Bulbs grant application deadline July 3
06/28/2009
The deadline for the Inspired by Bulbs grant applications is coming up fast: July 3. There’s still time to get your application in. Find ...
Simple labyrinth design for small spaces
06/21/2009
If you’re considering building a bulb labyrinth — but you’re a tad overwhelmed by the scale of the Cornell bulb labyrinth — ...
Digital scan: Late tulips
05/17/2009
Below is a digital scan I made of some late-season tulips from my garden. (Click on the image for a full-screen view.) All it takes is an ordinary ...
Cornell flower bulb labyrinth
05/10/2009
Last fall, we reported about an ambitious project by students in Dr. Bill Miller’s herbaceous perennials class at Cornell University to plant a ...
Grant Opportunity: Inspired by Bulbs!
04/26/2009
Tell us how your school or organization will use flower bulbs creatively in educational programs with children and youth. The 10 best applicants ...