Bees, Butterflies, & Bugs Mobile

Create a colorful mobile with your favorite flying creatures. Combine various bug body types into a delightful display.

• 1.

  Discover the different body types in common insects, such as ants, beetles, butterflies, and bees. Look at pictures of mobiles, such as those created by Alexander Calder, to see how important balance is to their construction.

• 2.

  Cut out your insects. Draw a large insect with Crayola® Erasable Colored Pencils on the back of Crayola Color Explosion Paper. Erase if needed to make it as accurate as possible. Keep any legs or antennae wide so you can cut them out easily. Fold your paper over so the black sides touch. Cut out a pair of insects with Crayola Scissors. Repeat to make as many pairs of insects as you want for your mobile.

• 3.

  Decorate the insects. Place each set of insects with the black side up. Use Color Explosion Markers to decorate them. Think of interesting natural patterns and designs to make your creatures unique.

• 4.

  Lay one end of a thread on the back of an insect. Bend and place chenille stems on the back for legs and antennae. Cover the back of the matching insect with Crayola School Glue. Place it on top of the first piece, so the chenille stems and thread are sandwiched between. Repeat for all insects. Air-dry your insects.

• 5.

  Prepare your hanger. Trim construction paper to cover a cardboard tube. Poke the thread ends from the insects through the paper and them tape to the back. Wrap the paper around the tube (with the threads inside). Glue the paper to the tube. Attach paper

• 6.

  On more paper, use Crayola Crayons to create decorative details (maybe a sun and clouds). Cut them out. Glue them on the covered tube. Air-dry the glue.

• 7.

  Punch a hole at each end of the tube. Attach yarn to hang your mobile in a classroom display.

Benefits

• Students identify common insect bodies and create their own version of these types.
• Students duplicate patterns and designs found in nature.
• Students design and construct a mobile that represents various insect body types.

Adaptations

• Measure body sizes so that the insects on your mobile are to scale.
• Take a nature walk to identify common insects that live in your area. Look under stones and logs, around flowers and gardens, and in other insect habitats. Sketch each one and note their coloring.
• Create a stabile or mural with a similar theme.
• Assessment: Verify that specific body types of different insects are correctly identified and re-created.