This fall, the first annual "symbolic monarch butterfly migration" will be launched in collaboration with Mexico City's Museo del Nino (Children's Museum) and museums across North America. You're invited to join the celebration as students across the United States and Canada create thousands of paper butterflies that will "migrate" to Mexico for the winter.
The fall flight will be timed to correspond with the real monarchs' journey south. The paper butterflies will arrive in Mexico around the time of the Dia de los Muertos (November 1), just as the real monarchs do. According to Mexican legend, these returning butterflies are thought to carry the ancestors' souls and play a role in the Dia de los Muertos celebrations.
Mexican students at the Museo del Nino will greet the butterflies and watch over them during the winter months. At the same time in the mountains nearby, the entire eastern population of North American monarch butterflies will rest in Mexico for the winter. Sometime next March, when the real monarchs' departure from Mexico is announced, the paper butterflies will return to North America. Each butterfly will carry a special message from the Mexican students to the students in Canada and U. S. who made them.
The migration of the monarch butterfly is one of the most spectacular natural phenomena in the world. It is also considered an "endangered phenomena" because scientists fear this incredible journey may not last beyond the next decade. This celebration will symbolize an international partnership between Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Joined by a fragile butterfly, shared hope will be carried across borders and between generations.
Journey North
125 North First Street
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401
***********************************************************
In Partnership With:
The Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC)
The Science Museum of Minnesota
Papalote, Museo del Nino (Children's Museum of Mexico City)
Funded By:
The Annenberg/Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Math & Science Project
 |
|
|---|
