Collage art for primary children: Art meets Science

Combine recycling, paper collage and kids together...
throw in some imagination, just sparks of ideas... add a bit of science theory, storytelling and this is what 9 & 10 years olds do...

Apis parvusoptera: recycled lap-band boxes & paper

We are given boxes, which are designed to hold lap bands, from an eco-conscious parent who works in the medical world. So I decided to put them to use because they have this lovely bubble of plastic that helps create a magnifying glass illusion. 

In a nutshell this is what we did:
(1)    Collaged some bees wings and bodies onto a photocopy of a bee. 
Here is a link to my dragonfly project which followed a similar beginning http://ubersavvy.blogspot.com/2011/03/dragonflies-galore-art-for-10-year-olds.html

(2)    I spent some time explaining scientific names; how they are achieved, latin roots and common suffixes. This is a good link to the basics- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_and_Greek_words_commonly_used_in_systematic_names. Then the kids wrote their own scientific name for their bee which was printed along with their original story about their bee. 
(3)  I printed the story and scientific name onto paper and a plastic OHT- they could use either or both.
(4)  Collage away! 

Of course we looked at the visual genre of museum display, but this was only a starting point for their choices. 

They look great displayed collaboratively but up close they are so unique!