Visiting The Met? The Temple of Dendur will be closed Sunday, April 27 through Friday, May 9. The Met Fifth Avenue will be closed Monday, May 5.

Learn more

How to Make a Field Guide

Make a field guide and use it to classify bugs like a scientist at the museum.

Make a field guide and use it to classify bugs like a scientist at the museum.

Using everyday ingredients and tools from your kitchen cabinet, embark on a hands-on process that prompts you to ask questions, mix compounds, and analyze materials like a scientist at the Museum.

Sign up for #MetKids newsletters to receive more activities, videos, and content you can share with your kids.

Materials

- 5 sheets of paper
- Hole puncher
- Shoelace
- Pencil
- Decorating materials (i.e. scrap fabric, paper)

Instructions

Part 1 — How to make a Field Guide
- Fold at least five sheets of paper in half.
- Punch one hole on the center edge of your closed notebook.
- Bring each end of your shoelace over the top and bottom of the book and sew them both through the center hole.
- Tie a knot and decorate!

Part 2 — How to use your Field Guide
With your new guide in hand, step outside to scour your neighborhood for bugs! Start by looking for clues that a bug may have left behind: a half eaten leaf or a holey branch. Imagine what kind of bug could have done this damage. What kind of teeth did it have? Do you think just one bug did it? Or many? Once you find a bug, use your field guide to draw what you see and write down any interesting details. With enough detective work, you’ll soon have a book full of bugs!


Chief Digital Officer: Douglas Hegley
Executive Producer: Sarah Wambold
Director/Writer/Producer: Emma Vecchione
Producer: Rachel Smith
Project Manager: Maria Kozanecka
Animation Direction: Lisa LaBracio
Stop Motion Animation: Lisa LaBracio
2D Animation: Luca Mancuso
Prop Fabrication: Lisa V. Bergmann, Anna Samo
Narrator: Roselin Lopez
Episode Consultants: Michael Millican, Marco Leona
Education Consultants: Darcy-Tell Morales, Merantine Hens
Original Music: Austin Fisher
Sound Mix: Dave Raymond
Production Design: Aurola Wedman Alfaro
Rights and Permissions: Julie Zeftel

All Images © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

MetKids is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies

© 2023 The Metropolitan Museum of Art


Illustration of a hand pointing to a mirror with a single fingerprint; little fingerprint ghosts float on either side of the mirror
Video
Uncover hidden fingerprints around your home like an art detective.
June 28, 2023
Collage of a fish and conch shell emanating sound waves towards an ear
Video
Sound is invisible, yet it’s all around us! What’s going on here? What exactly is a sound, anyway?
July 5, 2023
Illustrated drum sticks play atop a DIY drum made of a tin can decorated with colorful cut paper shapes; wavy arrows like sound waves point to the drum
Video
Make an instrument and a special tool to visualize sound.
July 5, 2023