“Busy Bugs”

Armed with magnifying cups and sketchbooks, our class ventured into forests and meadows to explore nature up close. But we didn’t just look – we became scientists. In our classroom, we raised butterfly caterpillars and investigated a true biological wonder: testing whether mealworms could actually biodegrade Styrofoam. The results of our experiment left everyone in awe.

Art played a huge role in this journey. The students used unexpected tools – like forks, balloons, and bubble wrap – to create textures from the insect world before layering them into paper collages. We also crafted insects from forest materials, upcycled trash into a blooming art meadow, and made handmade seed paper to grow a feast for bees and butterflies.

Our efforts culminated in a major school exhibition, and the project won a prize in a prestigious nationwide competition. Visitors loved watching our butterflies hatch live and seeing the mealworms hard at work breaking down plastic.

The project has been summarised in a book. See some example pages below:

“What is an insect?”
“Insects always have antennae, 3 body parts, 6 legs and an exoskeleton.”
“The Forest Skyscraper.”
“Why are insects important?”
“No insects, no fruit.”
“Insects protect the garden.”
“Nature’s garbage collectors / Insects as a main dish.”
“The super-recyclers.”
“Where did the buzzing go?”
“Insects in Danger.”
“A world without insects.”
“Bringing the buzzing back!”
“Recipe for Seed Paper.”
Word from the project in German Sign Language.

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