Midnight Moths

Creation for Kids in Church Camps

Many insects move about at night gathering nectar from flowers, just as bees might do during the day. Some of these insects, especially the moths, seem to specialize on some flowers which open up only during the night. And some species can even tell one species from another by its color, maybe even in the ultraviolet spectrum. In this game, campers will test how well they can distinguish colors at night. Be careful not to play it on a night with absolutely no natural light or it will be almost impossible.

Spread a number of flowers cut out of paper (or just use milk caps) throughout a grassy area, and use at least four different colors of flowers. Divide the campers into four different groups, and assign each team a color to collect. Emphasize that the campers should collect only the color assigned to their team, and instruct them to bring the collected flowers back to a pile shared by their whole team. Just like moths, the campers may not use their flashlights during the game. After giving the start signal, allow the game to continue until almost all of the milk caps have been successfully gathered.

Next, ask a member of each team to turn on a flashlight and count the number of incorrect colors that ended up on each team's pile. In other words, the green team should count every flower that is not green but was mistakenly though to be green and put in their pile. Discuss the results with the campers, emphasizing the difficulty of the task and the special equipment that night animals need in their eyes in order to tell colors apart at night. Even though it can be nearly impossible to tell one color from another in dim light, once the flashlights are on, the task is suddenly much easier. In the same way, it is often difficult to tell good from bad, but in the light of Christ, the difference is quickly revealed.