Butterfly Hanging Garden Age Preschool and up Time 30 minutes or more Type of Activity Art Materials needed •     Monarch butterfly pictures.       (Click here to download: Butterflies 1, Butterflies 2, Butterflies 3.) •     Milkweed picture (Click here to download.) •     Flower pictures (Click here to download: Plant 1, Plant 2.) •     Construction or other colored paper •     Felt squares in different colors •     Scissors •     Crayons, color pencils, and/or magic markers •     Glue stick or all purpose glue •     Tape -- both regular and double stick What to do 1.     Print out the pictures of the Monarch butterfly and the plants that you         want to include in your “garden.” 2.     Have your child color them. 3.     If your child can use scissors safely, then let him cut out the colored         pictures. If not, then do it yourself. 4.     Have your child arrange his pictures on the brightly colored paper.         Glue them on. 5.     Hang in a sunny location! Variation Cut out different flower shapes in felt or construction paper. These can be glued onto a heavier paper such as poster board. Tip Older children may be interested in having the plants and butterflies look exactly like the real ones.

Build an Edible Bridge Do your kids ever ask you how bridges work? Why they don’t collapse? How much weight they can carry? Turn this fascination into a learning activity. Challenge your kids to build a bridge that can span two chairs and hold the weight of a book or magazine. Have them work together to create the lightest possible bridge that can hold the most weight. Age 8 and up Time 30 minutes or more Type of Activity Science/Engineering Materials needed •     Toothpicks or straws •     Gumdrops or mini-marshmallows •     Pencil and graph paper (optional) •     Two chairs •     A book or magazine What to do 1.     Have your kids investigate the construction of things in and around the         house. What kind of supports hold up the kitchen table, dining-room         chairs, the roof, the mailbox? Have them build a few geometric shapes         out of toothpicks and gumdrops and test them for strength. Kids will         soon discover that the triangle is the strongest shape -- all three of its         sides work together to support the weight you place on it. 2.     Some kids might like to map out how they’ll build their bridge on graph         paper. Others may just want to start building using the trial and error         method. Either way, it’s nice to have paper handy to jot down notes. 3.     Put the bridge to the test. Place it between two chairs and place a         magazine on top. If the bridge can hold the magazine, move on to the         heavier book. 4.     If your kids can part with their masterpieces, deconstruct and eat!         Bridge building can be as simple as joining a few marshmallows         together, or as complicated as using precise measurements and         mathematical theories in competition with other would-be engineers.