Symbolic Monarch Butterfly Migration Update: October 31, 2003
Muchas Mariposas! Thousands of Butterflies Now Staging in Minnesota
Greetings from the Symbolic Butterfly Capital of the World, where your butterflies are resting comfortably--at least for now.
Over the next several weeks, we'll continue opening envelopes from each and every class, mixing butterflies sent from students across the U.S and Canada. And just like the real monarchs now "funneling" through Texas and into Mexico, all of your symbolic monarchs will soon travel side by side and spend the winter together. (Watch for the Passenger List in our next Update.)
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Symbolic Migration Art Gallery Now Open
But before your Butterflies are packed into their boxes for the final leg of their fall journey to Mexico, we've paused to take LOTS of pictures.
Journey North's premiere art curator Mary Hosier has been busy collecting and photographing many of your butterflies for the Symbolic Migration Art Gallery. We think you'll love visiting this special exhibition of your fine artwork! Even though we couldn't display all of the thousands and thousands of butterflies in the Gallery, we consider all of your works masterpieces!
Tour the Gallery, enjoy the artwork, and see if you can find YOUR Butterfly:
| Visit
the Galleries Do you see your Butterfly? |
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| Gallery
One Butterflies with Messages |
Gallery
Two Realistic Butterflies |
Gallery
Three Putting a Face on Your Monarch |
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| Gallery
Four Crazy for Collages |
Gallery
Five Littlest Gems |
Gallery
Six Delightfully Different |
Gallery
Seven Sensationally Symetrical |
Very Special Deliveries
Inside your envelopes we found many contributions for the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Foundation(MBSF). Your donations both large and small have served as a true gesture of appreciation to the Mexican people for caring for the butterflies.
We felt all your enthusiastic support in many messages, like this one from Kansas:
"The enclosed check is a small donation from our class to help the monarchs." Mary Van Dyke and students, at Atchison Middle School.
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Thank
you for your "We're Helping Monarchs" Donation |
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We'll proudly display all the names of those of you who donated, and the grand total in an upcoming report. And when the real butterflies return next spring, you'll be proud to know that you helped!
Symbolic monarchs that we exchange are ambassadors that carry messages between northern students and students in Mexico, where the monarchs overwinter. The symbolic monarch you made represents you and expresses your interest, friendship, and appreciation for the role the Mexican people play in monarch conservation.
As you follow the migrations of real and symbolic butterflies this year, plan to look for similarities and differences between the migrations. Keep a list of comparisons all year in your Journal and watch it grow. If you haven't already done so, here are some questions to consider and some lessons to try.
Try This! Journaling Questions:
- Who is responsible for the monarchs at each stage of their lives?
- What happens when the butterflies cross national borders?
- What obstacles might they encounter during their migration?
- How do the butterflies find their wintering grounds?
- Are there times during the fall, winter or spring when the entire population is at risk?
Symbolic Migration Lessons:
Lesson 1: Monarch Butterflies as a Shared Natural Resource
Lesson 2: All Countries Make Their Own Rules
Lesson 3: What is an Ambassador?
Lesson 4: What to Expect Next Spring
Lesson 5: Looking for Parallels Between Real and Symbolic Migrations
Butterflies Fly Free, Thanks to UPS
For the 7th year in a row, all of your butterflies--thousands and thousands of them--will be migrating to Mexico, all thanks to UPS (United Parcel Service)! Their generosity, year after year, is an important part of this successful Symbolic Migration.
| We hope you'll take the time to send them a thank you note for their support | |
| Please
send your thanks to:  Mr. Ed Gill UPS Minnesota COO 3312 Broadway St. NE Minneapolis, MN 55413 |
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Mark your Calendar! Here What's Next for Your Symbolic Butterflies:
| COMING
NOVEMBER 18 |
| Symbolic
Butterflies take off for Mexico! |
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Passenger Lists (so you can make sure your Symbolic Butterflies
were on board). |
| Challenge
Question #1: A special UPS Tracking number will be posted so you
can try to predict exactly how many days, hours, minutes and seconds
the symbolic migration will take to Mexico. (To be sure you're ready,
bookmark the UPS tracking system now: UPS
Online Package Tracking System |
| Challenge
Question #2: Facts to help you predict how many symbolic monarchs
are flying to Mexico. |
| More
Butterflies fly into the Galleries |
| COMING
NOVEMBER 25th |
| Total
number of Symbolic Butterflies revealed. |
| Total
days, hours and minutes it took to reach Mexico revealed. |
| List
of donors to the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Foundation proudly
displayed. |
| While
your Butterflies are in the care of the Mexican people, read about
life in the sanctuary region. |
The Next Symbolic Monarch Migration Update Will be Posted on November 18, 2003
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1997- 2003 Journey North. All Rights Reserved.
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