New interactive board game teaches children about butterfly life cycles and seasonal migration

New Game

A new board game called Monsoon Wings teaches players about the life cycles and seasonal migrations of butterflies. Aswathi Asokan conceptualised the game during her work with Nature Classrooms, a Bengaluru-based organisation that connects students to the natural world. The game focuses on four milkweed butterfly species that undertake massive annual migrations driven by monsoon winds, moving between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats. These species are the blue tiger, plain tiger, striped tiger, and common crow.

How It Works

The game accommodates any number of players divided into four groups, with each group representing one of the four butterfly species. Participants play across six rounds that correspond to different stages of a butterfly's journey, using specific sets of cards for each round. Positive events allow players to move one or two steps forward, while negative events push them backward. Players perform physical actions like fluttering, laying eggs, and dancing as they move, and the team that advances the farthest wins.

Development

Aswathi initially drafted the game in a text format and tested it with elementary school children aged seven to 12 at Sunnyside Learning School in Chennai. Ketaki Watve illustrated and designed the final version, which was released in October. The project builds on Aswathi's earlier nature education work, including co-authoring the bilingual field guide Butterflies of Chennai with Vikas Madhav.

Context

Butterfly migration is a fascinating natural phenomenon where insects travel long distances in response to seasonal weather changes like monsoons. Using games to teach ecology helps make complex scientific concepts fun and easy to remember for young learners. Educators can contact Nature Classrooms by email for more information about acquiring the game.