How do bats help pollinate the saguaro cactuses of the deserts?

Like this!

We traced the edge of the cup onto a coffee filter

And cut it out [to be petals]

We made a circle of honey and cut straws shorter than
the cups [to make the pollen stick and to mimic the proboscises of the bats]

We coated the rims with honey [to stick the pollen to]

And then dipped them in sugar [the pollen]

And poured a small amount of root beer in the bottom of the cups [to mimic nectar]

Then we pulled on our coffee filters [to be petals]

And used our straws [proboscises] to drink out the pop [nectar]

The kids [bats] really had to smush their faces into the
rims of the cups [cactuses] to enjoy the pop [nectar]

This resulted in sugary [polleny] faces

and if they moved on to their neighbor’s cup [cactus] they would
have left behind remnants of sugar [pollen]
and helped to make new flowers!  I mean cups!

I did not think of this myself – all the credit goes
to Carrie Austin at Heart of Dakota Publishing.

 

DO TRY THIS AT HOME!
Even Tabitha got in on the experiment.  As the big 3 were writing
up their labs, she did as well and proudly brought it to me. 
These are DEFINITELY the days where homeschooling as a family is so special!

We were bats, not birds, but you get the idea.
[click the photos to go to the photographers’ credits.]

HERE WE ARE!