Create a Butterfly Garden

by Margy Davidson

Age: Elementary and up
Time: 30 minutes or more
Type of Activity: Art

Materials needed:

• Monarch butterfly pictures (Click here to print: Butterflies 1, Butterflies 2, Butterflies 3.)
• Scissors
• Crayons, color pencils, and/or magic markers
• Glue stick or all purpose glue
• Tape -- both regular and double stick
• Tissue paper
• Pipe cleaners in different colors and thicknesses
• Styrofoam base (any shape can be used). These can be found at any arts and crafts store and can be painted.

What to do:

1. Print out the pictures of the Monarch butterfly (Butterflies 1, Butterflies 2, Butterflies 3) that you want to include in your "garden."

2. Color and cut out.

3. If you want your styrofoam base to be a different color than what it came as, then paint it and let it dry. This is your "ground" or "garden plot."

4. Make tissue paper flowers by folding strips of tissue paper in an accordion (fan) like manner. Wrap a piece of pipe cleaner around the center of the folded strip, leaving enough to form a stem. Open the folds so that a circle (the flower) forms around the pipe cleaner. Tape the ends together so that it keeps its shape as a flower.

5. Make whimsical or true-to-life flower shapes out of the pipe cleaners. Attach pipe cleaner stems and leaves.

6. You can also make pipe cleaner butterflies and other insects to put in your garden. Again, these can imaginary or true-to-life creatures. Attach a pipe cleaner around the butterfly's center so that it stands up and appears to be flying in the garden.

7. Stick the flower stems in the styrofoam base. Add your pipe cleaner insects.

8. Attach the paper butterflies to the flowers with double stick tape or glue.

9. Display in a sunny location.

More on: Butterfly Migration