I've been getting prepared for a Fall family pollinator event tomorrow. I will be on hand to talk about honey bees. Other pollinators represented will be bats, native bees, and butterflies. The Monarch butterfly will be the focus because the event is to celebrate the fall Monarch migration.
I have learned a good conversation starter is potted plants of New England Aster and fall blooming mums. I place note cards boldly stating "Plant this!" and "Not this!" Many people are curious enough to ask why and then the conversation starts.
For a teaching element focused on younger people I have made this chart of the worker life cycle.
The darker cells are covered in a foam type of sheet material. The foam represents wax cappings. Under the foam I have pictures of pupae I printed off the computer. The eggs are basmati rice grains. The larvae is made from plaster of paris. The Royal jelly is toothpaste.
Teaching materials that can be bought seem to always be very expensive and honestly, after a day of kids touching with sticky fingers they are pretty gross. So I try to test my craft skills and see what I can come up with. Rather than go into detail about specifics I try to keep the information simple. Yes, an egg can hatch in less than 3 days, a worker can emerge any where from 18-22 days, etc.
