Fun activity #2 - Butterflies of the world

Exploring the great outdoors and discovering the beautiful butterflies of the world doesn't have to stop! Here are some fun butterfly-themed activities to do at home...

1. Create your own indoor butterfly farm with these educational colour-in butterfly printables. Colour them in, place around the room and have the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory livestream in the background.

Flying Queen, Painted Lady and Tiger Swallowtail butterfly colouring sheets from Mom Junction

2. Download or print 3D butterfly flash cards and watch as the butterflies come to life thanks to augmented reality.
To see the butterflies in 3D: download the free Libraries of Life app onto your smartphone via the app store (only compatible on Apple phones I'm afraid), scan the butterfly card (either printed or on screen - both work) and watch the 'real life' butterfly appear!

The Atala butterfly comes to life as it is scanned with the Libraries of Life app

3. Discover the life cycle of a butterfly in 4 easy steps at National Geographic Kids. 

 The metamorphosis cycle 

4. If you have a balcony or garden, get hands on and watch as your very own caterpillars grow into beautiful butterflies, observing every step of the way with Insect Lore's Live Butterfly Garden Kit. 

Live Butterfly Garden Kit from Insects Lore, £17.99

5.  Finally, put all that caterpillar and butterfly knowledge to the test with the Primary Resources 'fill in the blanks' printable. 

Test your knowledge of the metamorphosis cycle with educational printable worksheets

And for story time, enjoy classic 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' by Eric Carle or watch its animated version on YouTube!