Flower Engineers

Time:

Understand the basics of a flower then build the different models of flowers that attract different insects.

Materials to dissect flower (groups of 2-3)

Tweezers / Magnifying glass
Fresh flower / Clear Tap
Paper

Materials to construct flower (per student)

Construction paper / Tissue paper
Scissors / Glue
Tape / Markers
Pipe Cleaners / Additional art materials of your choice

Plant scientists called botanists learn about flowers by dissecting them that means you! Your mission is to dissect a flower to find where the pollen is. Along the way you will learn about other flower parts too!

Activity 1 Directions:

  1. Lookattheflowerdiagramonthenextpage. Matchtheflowerpartsshownon thediagramwiththoseontherealflower. Useyourmagnifyinglenstolook.


  1. These are usually large and brightly colored. Choose two of the best-looking petals. Using your dis secting needle, carefully remove them from the flower by scraping at the base to free them .Tape them inside the rectangle labeled Petals.
  1. At the centerofthefloweristhepistil.Ifyoucannotfindthepistil,lookagain atthepicturetoseewhereitislocated. Carefullyremovethepistilandtapeitin therectanglelabeledPistil.


  1. You will also find many stamens inside the flower. Gently pull off one stamenfrom the base. Look carefully at the top with a hand lens.Do you see any pollen on the top?Shake the stamen or use your dissecting needle to scrape the top of it while holdingit over the rectangle labeled Pollen.Do you see any pollen? Place a piece of tape over the pollen.


  1. Now, tape at least 2 stamens to the square labeled Stamens.Great work! You are almost finished. Take a close e look at your book. Did you carefully securethe plant parts in tcorrect places? Compare your book with another person's to check your work.

Activity 2 Directions:

  1. Distribute handout to students.
  2. Ask students to look at the pollinator chart in the handout, and decide what pollinator interest them the most. Make sure to tell them to keep that as a secret for now to prepare for a survey later.
  3. After they decide which pollinator interest them the most, they can find out what flower color and shape the pollinator is attracted to.
  4. Let students to decide which flower they want to build, and ask them to draw the flower on the blank sheet (Number and color of petals, how many stamens, and where to put them).
  5. Let students label stamens, pistil, petals, leaves, and sepals.

Activity 2 Talking points:

Talk to students and ask which part of the flowers they think would be the most attractive to their pollinator?

Activity 3 Directions:

  1. Have students make a similar chart on a blank piece of paper.
  2. Let students ask five other people: “What pollinates my flower?”, and record each person’s name and response on the paper.
  3. Have students write down their answer: Tell why you think you did a good job designing and building your flower.

Activity 3 Talking Points:

  1. From the results of your survey, tell what you might do next time to improve your flower design