Pollen Experiment

Pollen Experiment

Materials:

  • clear plastic bowl or plastic jar
  • green tissue paper to line the bowl
  • yellow construction paper for petals
  • clear tape
  • crunchy cheese balls
  • wrapped candy (1 piece for each child)

Children have difficulty understanding how pollen sticks to butterflies and bees. This activity simulates the stickiness of pollen. Prepare the bowl to look like a flower. Line it with the green tissue and add the yellow petals around the rim using clear tape. Place the candy on the bottom of the bowl. Cover them up by filling the bowl with the cheese balls. Let the children take turns pretending to be a bee by reaching into the flower (bowl) for nectar (a candy). When they pull out their hands, their fingers will be covered with pollen (cheese dust). Make the connection that this is what happens to a bee’s body when it reaches into a flower to drink nectar.

Activity Provided By:

Fontenelle Forest
1111 N. Bellevue Blvd.
Bellevue, NE 68005
www.fontenelleforest.org

Age:
_ 0-1
_ 1-2
_ 2-3
✓ 3-4
✓ 4-5
✓ 5-6

Category: Group Activities

Iowa Early Learning Standards:
8.2, 9.3, 9.4, 10.4, 12.4, 12.5, 13.3, 14.3

Related Kindernature Resources: