Recently, the kids at Cornerstone participated in a ‘Butterfly Project’. The project teaches children about the life cycle of a butterfly. The activity was guided by Dr. Adrian Elangovan of Singapore Polytechnic. Mr. Isaac (the leader of Cornerstone) interviewed Dr. Elangovan and many of the children who participated in the activity. Below are some highlights from the interview.
Interview with Dr. Elangovan:
a) What is the word for butterfly in Tamil? (Tamil is the local language spoken by the kids and staff at Cornerstone).
Vannathu Poochi or Pattam Poochi.
b) How many children participated in this activity?
The activity started with only 15 kids, but the group grew and grew as the kids saw how much fun their brothers, sisters, and friends were having. By the end of the activity, about 40 kids were participating!
c) Did the boys like it? Did the girls like it?
Both the boys and the girls liked it very much.
d) What were the subjects of the small group discussions throughout the activity?
1. Different stages of the life of a butterfly
2. Shapes, sizes, and colors of different species of butterflies
3. Anatomy of a butterfly
4. How different species of butterflies are named
5. Fun facts about butterflies
e) What did the kids like the most about the activity?
Running around the garden and catching the butterflies. And then drawing the butterflies, with the anatomy labeled.
Interview with the children:
a) What were your favorite things about the activity?
1. Catching the butterflies in the garden. They looked green, due to a little rain received in our area.
2. Drawing and naming the various parts of the butterfly.
3. Learning about the different species of butterflies and how they are named.
b) What was the most surprising thing you learned about butterflies during the activity?
-A butterfly has no mouth.
-All of us thought that butterflies eat only honey. We were surprised to learn that they also eat tiny insects on the water.
-Wings of butterflies have no color, but the scales on the wings develop colors.
-The wings of the butterfly never get wet if water falls on them.
c) Did you catch any butterflies? What’s an interesting fact you learned about butterflies during the activity?
1. Priya (12th grade): Yes, I caught a beautiful butterfly. Butterflies have a particular way to swing their wings so that their body has steady temperature.
2. Babu (11th grade): When I caught a butterfly and held the two wings in my hands, I noticed a “V” shape.
3. Bala (7th grade): I was thrilled to catch male and female butterflies together. The male butterfly looked smaller in size than the female one.
4. Tina (12th grade): When I touched each side of the wings of the butterflies, I noticed that the color sticks on my hands.
5. Haritha (11th grade): If the Monarch butterfly migrates from Mexico to the coast of California, it lives for 6 months. Also, the Angel Wings butterfly is the only one that has the life span of one full year.
(All the names of the children have been changed to protect their privacy as per Miracle Foundation’s policies)