Firefly Projects for Children

Firefly Watchers

• Children can go on a firefly safari in order to spot fireflies in nature. Ask each child to choose two or three fireflies to observe. The kids should pay attention to the flashes the fireflies emit and try to identify a pattern for each insect. They should note if the fireflies flash one, two or even three times in a row. The children should also pay attention to the direction of the fireflies' flight pattern. The male of the most common species of fireflies, the P. pyralis, will fly towards females in a J-shaped pattern.

Create a Firefly

• Kids can create their own firefly with a wooden Popsicle stick, glow in the dark paint, black marker, tissue paper, white glue, paint brush and pair of safety scissors. Ask the kids to paint half of the wooden stick with the glow-in-the-dark paint. Draw two eyes on the end of the stick that is unpainted. Cut the tissue paper into ovals with the scissors. The ovals will become the firefly's wings, which are glued to each side of the stick. Now you can turn the lights off to see the glowing firefly.

Firefly Catcher

• Children can build a firefly container in order to observe the insect. Fireflies fly rather slowly and are easy for children to catch. Capture a firefly and place it in a jar and observe. You can create your own bug jar by punching holes in the lid of a Mason jar and screwing the lid into place after putting the bug in the jar. Ask your child to observe the flashes emitted by the bug. Shine a flashlight on the firefly. Note whether or not the patterns of the flashes have changed. The sex of the firefly can often be determined by the light pattern of the bug's flashes. Be sure to release the firefly where you found it. Do not keep it for more than one day.

Firefly Tag

• After dark, get a small group of children and adults together. Typically five to ten participants are required. Choose one child to be the firefly with a flashlight. Have the child face away from the group with the light turned off. After counting to sixty, the child flashes the light once. The rest of the group then counts to 100 and sets off to capture the firefly, who can hide and change directions. Every 60 seconds, the child must flash the light once. The first person to tag the firefly becomes the firefly for the next round.