Summary Find and collect pollen in flowers. In the classroom, optionally transfer pollen from one flower to another, like a pollinator. Science content Biology: Features, Adaptations of Living Things (K, 1, 3, 7) Biology: Life Cycles (2) Science competencies (+ questioning + manipulation + others that are in every activity) Planning/conducting: data collection/recording (K up) Lessons activity is in Pollination: Life cycles of flowers and insects Plant growth and pollination Materials flowers with heavy pollen, ideally of different colours. lilies work well for indoor use (make sure a flower store has not removed the stamens, and ripen until heavy with pollen). Q-tips, or pipe cleaners of contrasting colour to pollen colour optional: magnifiers Procedure Show students where to find pollen in a flower - on the anthers. For a flower to be pollinated (and then make seeds), the pollen needs to touch the stigma of another flower. Pollen comes in different colours. (Tulips have black pollen. Orange/white lilies purchased in florists have red-brown pollen. Fireweed has green pollen.) Give students Q-tips or pipe cleaners to gently touch the anthers to pick up pollen. Using purchased flowers, young students can use their Q-tip to move pollen from one flower's stamens to another flowers stigma, like a bee. They can buzz like a bee too as they move around the classroom! Pollinating animals brush the pollen from one flower to another as they forage for nectar, so accidentally pollinating flowers. Flowers have evolved to be shapes that facilitate pollen being picked up by the pollinator as they reach for nectar. Bees collect both nectar and pollen, to feed growing bees in the hive. Optionally give students magnifiers to look at the pollen and flower parts closely. Grades taught Gr K Gr 1 Gr 2 Gr 3
