Butterfly Food Sensory Challenge

Butterfly science and sensory experiments are loads of fun...and a great way to learn more about one of our favorite insects: butterflies!

Fun Fact: Did you know butterflies have taste sensors on their feet? When they land on a plant they can tell if they will like the flavor AND if their caterpillars can eat it!

We did this fun butterfly food challenge as part of our butterfly month and the Virtual Book Club for Kid's Butterfly week! I'll share the book club information below, right after the butterfly activity!

Easy Butterfly Lesson & Challenge:

Simple Supplies: 2-4 different liquid foods and straws. (I used orange juice, lime juice, strawberry/mango juice, and water, but you can use any edible liquids you want!) It's easiest to pour a small cup of each liquid for each child in advance.

1- Ask your kids how they know how something tastes. Discuss how you have taste sensors on your tongues that send a message to your brain about how food tastes. Butterflies have similar taste sensors on their feet!

2- Ask your kids if they have ever seen teeth on a butterfly. Discuss how butterflies do not chew or cut their food--they only drink it. They have a proboscis, or straw-like mouth that sucks up nectar, juice, or even muddy water!

When a butterfly first crawls out of its chrysalis it has to assemble its proboscis. It sort of looks like a straw cut in half:

The pieces fit together and get "zipped" up shortly after the butterfly emerges. A few hours later, it will "drink" through its new proboscis!

3- Can you "eat" like a butterfly? Explain to your preschoolers that they have 3 (or however many you have!) different liquids in the cups in front of them. Their challenge is to eat each liquid like a butterfly and see if they can guess what each "butterfly food" is!

And, just in case you were wondering... my kids all guessed the orange juice, lime juice (many thought it was lemon first), and water. Some got the strawberry mango, some guessed strawberry until I told them there were two fruits in it (and then they figured it out), and some just didn't get it!