New Zealand Science Teacher

Flight of the Butterflies

18/05/2015

Schools now have the opportunity to show a subsidised screening of a highly acclaimed natural history film.

A film that highlights the plight and flight of monarch butterflies is set to reach New Zealand theatres this winter.

Described as a ‘natural history epic’ and a ‘detective story’, Flight of the Butterflies is presented in 3D and has received rave reviews internationally.

The plot follows two parallel stories – one of Fred Urquhart, the entomologist who discovered a monarch hideaway in Mexico, and the other the journey of one particular insect and its progeny across thousands of kilometres.

Watch the film trailer clip here.

A New Zealand premiere of the film is planned for Auckland at the end of June, at which the Monarch Butterfly New Zealand Trust hopes to display an artwork representing overwintering butterflies.

The Trust is working to raise funds so that screenings for schools can be subsidised.  To be considered for a subsidised screening, the Trust is asking for paper butterflies to contribute to the artwork.

Find the link to the paper butterfly template here (scroll down the webpage). Print the template and let students colour each butterfly appropriately. Trim around the edge of each shape and write your school name on the back. Paper butterflies should be sent to MBNZT, PO Box 44100, Pt Chevalier, Auckland 1246 before 16 June, 2015.

While everyone is encouraged to send in paper butterflies, five schools will win a place on an online ‘Create a butterfly habitat’ course (worth $50) and ten schools will win a set of butterfly educational resources.

Find more information about the New Zealand screenings of Flight of the Butterflies here.

The Monarch Butterfly New Zealand Trust offers a range of educational resources about lepidoptery.

Image: Monarch Butterfly (c)2006 Derek Ramsey, Wikimedia Commons