Engineering a Milkweed Seed Trap
Monarch butterflies are easy to grow in a classroom environment.Copyright 2022 Shonna Burchett-Brady, University of Florida MRET
After watching a milkweed seed pod dispersing its seeds and observing how messy and difficult it is to ‘catch’ the seeds, students use recycled materials to create a way to separate the seeds from the parachute. Students then package the seeds for delivery and share them with other classes, along with information on why we need to plant milkweed seeds.
Industrial engineers work to make things easier and better for factories, computers, and people. They take all sorts of products that we use every day and make them more efficient. Just like industrial engineers, students will find a way to extract seeds from their pods.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Describe the relationship between the monarch butterfly and the milkweed plant as it relates to the food chain, including why the plant is important to the animal.
- Show the life cycle of the milkweed plant including plant parts.
- Apply problem solving strategies to a real-life situation.