On the second day of hands-learning with monarch butterflies, kindergartners took turns feeding them.  Above, Sam'i demonstrates the technique of immobilizing the butterfly safely with one hand while offering a Gatorade-soaked pom-pom in the other hand.  When the butterfly tastes the juice absorbed by the pom-pom with her feet, she uncoils her proboscis to feed.

Cecelia demonstrates the hand-feeding technique by  offering her butterfly a cluster of Gatorade-soaked pom-poms in a bowl.  

Lina and Reese demonstrate keen focus and deep concentration as they handle their butterflies gently and patiently.  

 
A special aspect of our work with monarchs is the citizen science tagging project we participate in through  Monarch Watch.  We adhere tiny Monarch Watch tracking tags (stickers) to each butterfly's hindwing and record information about the butterfly on a tagging sheet that is sent to University of Kansas' Monarch Watch program.  Information is collected and stored by Monarch Watch in a large data base and used by scientists in Mexico, United States, and Canada who are working to reveal mysteries about the insects' cross-continental migration patterns. 

Kindergarten is looking forward to releasing our monarchs in days ahead!