Choose Learning Type ▼

Insect Architects

Activity

Exploring Insect Habitats

Go on a nature walk to find insect homes. How do different insects build their homes? What materials do they use? Where do they choose to build? After you find insect homes in the Park, go back to your home or school and build a butterfly house, a mason bee house, a pollinator garden, or another spot for beneficial insects to live.

Science Seed

Some insects create nests that are beneficial such as silk caterpillars, but some insects create homes in places or ways that are incredibly destructive, such as termites that destroy human structures made of wood. Many insects are beneficial to humans and the ecosystem. Orchard Mason Bees are native to North America and are an important pollinator species that are critical to our food supply because they pollinate food plants as well as native plant species. Dragonflies love to eat mosquitos that carry human diseases, and ladybugs eat garden pests. Insects can make homes of mud, leaves, sap (such as the spittlebug), and even their own saliva (such as paper wasps).

move to the next activity

earn Badges

Badges can be earned through hands-on experiences within each of the 16 branches of science, or “Science Slices.” You can earn a badge in each branch of science by doing four activities in these categories. We also encourage participants to keep a Nature Journal to record their memories, and to express themselves creatively through writing or drawing after each activity. We recommend that each child (and parent if they’d like) write or draw in a journal after each activity, with expectations of your children that match their age (the goal is self-expression, not perfection).

Explore the Memorial Park Conservancy

The mission of Memorial Park Conservancy is to preserve, restore, and enhance Memorial Park for the enjoyment of all Houstonians, today and tomorrow.

join Families in Nature

It is our vision to inspire all families to fall in love with nature and foster the next generation of conservationists. Becoming a member of Families in Nature will give your family the opportunity to have adventures in nature, experience field science, develop as youth conservation leaders, and make memories that will last a lifetime. Memberships are free for everyone.

Who are we?

Families in Nature works to create opportunities for nature connection with the purpose of sparking a deep love and desire to protect, conserve and restore the environment. Our mission is to connect children and their families to nature and to each other through time spent learning, playing, and volunteering outdoors. It is our vision to inspire ALL families to fall in love with nature and foster the next generation of conservationists.

This project was made possible by