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Make a Bug Hotel from Recycled Materials

Make a Bug Hotel from Recycled Materials

Help the important pollinators in your area by building a bug hotel. This hands-on lesson will help kids learn more about insects, pollinators and decomposers and how helping these bugs are important by using these templates and worksheets to guide the activity. 

Materials Needed for this Bug Hotel STEM Project:

Some items are linked to my Amazon Affiliate account. When you purchase through my link, there is no added cost to you, but I receive a small commission in return.

 

Watch the video on how to make this Bug Hotel from Recycled Materials:

 

Let’s slow it down with step-by-step directions on how to make this bug hotel from recycled materials. For more detailed teaching instructions using the Engineering Design Process, you can get that here. 

Step 1:

Trace and cut two rectangle pieces of cardboard that fit inside your container.

Step 2:

Cut halfway down the middle of each piece of cardboard. Stack each piece by criss-crossing them in the slot to form a letter ‘X’

Step 3:

Place the cardboard ‘X’ inside the container.

 

Fill each side of the ‘X’ shape with recycled materials. Make sure to leave room for natural materials. Fold the cardboard tube to create sections.

Step 5:

Cut the straws in half and wrap them together in a bundle using a pipe cleaner.

Step 6:

Cut small rectangles out of thin cardboard and roll into cinnamon roll shapes.

Step 7:

Fill the rest of the bug hotel with natural items from outside. If you’re not adding things from nature right away, print this label on sticker paper and attach to the side of the container. 

 

Need a full lesson for this activity? You can grab that here in my TpT shop!

If you are looking for…

  • A Low-prep STEM lesson & easy-to-find materials
  • An engaging, hands-on activity that has guided directions
  • Opportunities for students to add their creativity
  • A quick, one-day STEM lesson for after-school clubs, homework extensions, homeschool projects (and more!)

Then this resource is PERFECT FOR YOU!

 

 

This product includes:

  • Easy project with simple materials
  • Digital & Printable
  • Written & video directions
  • Content-specific vocabulary
  • Science behind the project
  • Resources to explore the topic more
  • Experiment to test the design

 

Grab the full lesson HERE!

 

 

Related Podcast Episodes/Blog Posts:

More About The Author, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is a K-5 STEM educator and business owner in Colorado supporting elementary teachers world-wide navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there. She has over a decade of experience teaching, 5 years teaching elementary STEM, along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM Certificate.

She offers a variety of resources to help teachers feel successful teaching STEM to their elementary students through lesson plans, online courses, coaching and speaking events.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM, innovation and hands-on learning in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

Connect with Naomi Meredith:

 

entomologists

It’s a Bug Life: Behind the Scenes with Entomologists Kristie Reddick & Jessica Honaker [ep.2]

It’s a Bug Life: Behind the Scenes with Entomologists Kristie Reddick & Jessica Honaker [ep.2]

entomologists

Check out the full episode on It’s a Bug Life: Behind the Scenes with Entomologists Kristie Reddick & Jessica Honaker  

Subscribe to the podcast HERE on your favorite podcasting platform.

Episode Summary

Hey, Questies! We are embarking on our very first STEM Career Quest. We are diving into the tiny yet magnificent world of insects with The Bug Chicks, Kristie Reddick and Jessica Honnaker. Kristie and Jessica are entomologists, which means they study bugs.

On today’s quest, we are taken behind the scenes of what entomologists actually do. We also get to hear about some of the fun adventures Kristie and Jessica have had with their bug friends and about some of the cool bugs they get to work with as entomologists. This episode is full of interesting and fun facts – a perfect quest for questies like you to learn all about a bug’s life. Don’t forget to join our STEM Career Quest Club so you can learn even more about the world of insects!

 

Want more ways to enhance your podcast listening experience? 

Click HERE to join our STEM Career Quest Club!

Inside you get access to 

  • a private community of other STEM Career Quest listeners
  • comprehension guides for each episode
  • teaching slides for each episode where it is broken up into chunks so you can listen in smaller segments
  • related STEM activities you can complete with simple materials
  • one monthly virtual STEM field trip

And more!

entomologists

Get this set of comprehension guides for FREE here

 

Meet Kristie Reddick & Jessica Honaker, The Bug Chicks:

Kristie Reddick and Jessica Honaker are The Bug Chicks – entomologists, educators and scicomm professionals who work at the intersection of STEM and social-emotional learning. They teach about the incredible world of arthropods and specialize in using these incredible animals as a vehicle to help people foster empathy for themselves, others and the natural world. They are the creators and developers of the DIFFERENT: STEM + SEL curriculum, an award-winning, evidence-based program aimed at creating a positive mindset shift in students. They received their Master’s degrees from Texas A&M University. Kristie’s research focused on the biodiversity and biology of solifuge arachnids and Jessica’s work focused on the effects of blackmargined aphids in agroecosystems.

 

Connect with The Bug Chicks: 

See an Entomologist in Action:

entomologists

 

 

 

 

More About your host, Naomi Meredith

Naomi Meredith is an online K-5 STEM Coach in Colorado supporting elementary teachers world-wide navigate the best practices, strategies and tools out there. With over a decade of experience teaching, 5 years teaching elementary STEM, along with a M.Ed. in STEM Leadership and STEM Certificate, Naomi helps teachers world-wide to navigate best practices, strategies and tools out there. 

She offers a variety of tools to help teachers feel successful teaching STEM to their elementary students through lesson plans, online courses, coaching and speaking events.

She truly believes that any teacher out there can learn how to use STEM, innovation and hands-on learning in their classrooms effectively. She can’t wait to connect with you and be your guide!

Connect with the Host, Naomi Meredith:

More About The STEM Career Quest Podcast

Have you ever found yourself asking this question… “What do I want to be when I grow up?” Maybe you already have an answer to that, maybe you don’t.

Both are ok!

Welcome to the “STEM Career Quest” podcast! A show made for kids like you to help you build your dreams, or even find new ones, in science, technology, engineering and math. Each week, hear captivating stories and interviews to explore the exciting world of STEM. Oh! And grown-ups and teachers, you can listen too!

We’ll talk to experts in STEM who are passionate about what they do in the real-world and how they make a positive impact in their careers. Created and hosted by K-5 STEM Coach, Naomi Meredith, this show will spark your imagination and passions.

Join us each week on our quest to explore the possibilities of careers in STEM, one episode at a time.