Life Cycles – Pollinators

Using the museum’s very old but beautiful and delicate collections of bees and butterflies, students will learn the importance of pollinators to our environment and how they play a huge part in our life on earth. Explore their life cycles, anatomy, and the difference between butterflies and moths and bees and wasps!

Session aim

• To identify and remember the life cycles, anatomy and importance of butterflies, moths, bees, and wasps.

Session objectives

• To identify and name insect body parts.
• To recall the life cycle of certain insects.
• To remember the important role of insects as pollinators and their importance to food production and life on earth.

Curriculum links (Department for Education)

• Gross Motor Skills: “Move energetically, such as running, jumping, dancing, hopping, skipping and climbing.”
• The Natural World: “Understand some important processes and changes in the natural world around them, including the seasons and changing states of matter.”
• The Natural World: “Explore the natural world around them, making observations and drawing pictures of animals and plants”.
• Creating with Materials: “Safely use and explore a variety of materials, tools and techniques, experimenting with colour, design, texture, form and function”.
• Creating with Materials: “Make use of props and materials when role playing characters in narratives and stories”.
• Science: “identify and name a variety of common animals including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals”.
• Science: “describe and compare the structure of a variety of common animals (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, including pets)”.
• Science: “notice that animals, including humans, have offspring which grow into adults”.
• Science: “find out about and describe the basic needs of animals, including humans, for survival (water, food and air)”.