Changes in a Monarch's Life Cycle

Abstract:: This activity will include the students observing the monarch life cycle inside the classroom, a field experience observing monarch life on a milkweed plant and drawing it, and back in the classroom students will make a pop-up book of the monarch's life cycle with a short description on each page.

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Draw a Monarch Butterfly

Abstract:: This OLogy activity helps kids to learn about scientific illustrations by walking them through the steps for drawing a monarch butterfly. The activity begins by introducing kids to the importance of scientific illustration and why scientists prefer drawings to photographs. A photograph of a monarch and a printable monarch butterfly outline are included. In addition, students need color photographs, other research materials, paper, an eraser, and a variety of pencils. The process of creating the scientific illustration is broken down into five steps: researching, developing observational skills, tracing, filling in the illustration, and doing the background. Notes about how to research and plant a butterfly garden are included for a follow-up activity.

Abstract:: This activity is an inquiry and field study based. Students will be trying to observe, document, compare, contrast, and communicate what information they were able to gather. The will use this information to make in inference about the organisms they have found and classify them as either an insect or not an insect.

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Abstract:: The OLogy activity offers an interesting twist on the study of DNA. Students use colored beads (or gumdrops) to create a bracelet that's based on a section of DNA code. The two strands of the bracelet are then twisted together into a double helix. They can choose to recreate DNA code from a list of favorite plants and animals that includes a monarch butterfly, a chimpanzee, a sunflower, and a brown trout. The activity includes illustrated step-by-step directions.