The Mystery of Pollination:
The Curious Case of How Flowers Become Food

WONDER invites students to begin the pollination journey with curiosity by observing flowers, asking questions, and making predictions about how pollen moves from flower to flower. Students explore basic flower parts, pollen, and the idea that flowers need helpers, setting the foundation for understanding pollination through discussion, drawing, and outdoor observation.

DISCOVER helps students investigate the many helpers that move pollen, including bees, butterflies, birds, bats, wind, and other beneficial insects. Through observation, discussion, and sensory activities like honey tasting, students learn how different pollinators interact with flowers and why each plays an important role in healthy ecosystems.

CONNECT helps students link pollination to the plant life cycle by showing how flowers make seeds so new plants can grow. Students begin to understand that pollination is part of a larger system, connecting flowers, pollinators, seeds, food, and the continued growth of plants. Through movement, observation, and food-based activities, students connect plant reproduction to everyday foods that depend on pollinators.

EXPLORE helps students connect pollinators to food diversity, healthy ecosystems, and human nutrition. Through honey tasting, sensory science, observation, and discussion, students investigate how different flowers support different pollinators and how pollination shapes the colors, flavors, and variety of foods we eat. pollinator activity, and the foods on their plates.

ACT invites students to turn learning into stewardship by identifying ways to support pollinators at school, at home, and in their communities. Students explore pollinators’ basic needs, assess outdoor spaces, and create action plans that may include planting native flowers, providing water and shelter, protecting nesting spaces, reducing mowing, and teaching others.